Growing Up: In the Beginning
by Splitpersonality4ever
Summary: Growing up isn't easy. It takes time, experience, and a lot of love to grow up right. And everyone has a beginning; but if your beginning is full of pain and suffering, can you ever come out right? This is the story of three girls who do just that. From a place of experiments and torture, to one of love and nurture, this is their story. But remember, this is only the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Edited: 12/23/12**

**So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Note: This story takes place from roughly 1930-1960. I have four Ocs. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Chapter One  
The Great Escape  
Melissa's POV**

I heard a noise. I couldn't see what it was. '_The room is too dark… Or maybe my eyes are closed.' _ I raised my hand to check. _'Nope still open.'_ I looked around. I saw the brown-haired girl in the dim lighting. Isabella was what THEY called her, so we did too. I tried to remember her eye color. It was brown, I believed._ 'OH what that!'_ There was a louder noise. I looked toward it. Squinting, I could see the outline of someone hitting against the wall. I relaxed. It was just Adriana. She always did this. Out of the three of us, she hated this room the most.

She once tried to scratch a hole into the door. It didn't work and all that happened was that my turn was skipped and she was the next to get experimented on. I'm not completely sure what that word means. Experiment. It sounded scary. But to me, to us, it meant pain. It always lead to that. So did the word test. We all hated when it's time for one of those. Once, THEY made us run and run till we were tired and fell. Or THEY give us a bunch of weird things to eat that made us sick. Or moved us into a cold room and left us there for a very long time. Sometimes it was hot room. One time, THEY put me under water and kept me there even when I was running out of air. My chest burned so much.

We never liked those experiments or tests. Even if sometimes THEY take us outside. That pain wasn't worth it. Don't get me wrong, I liked it outside. It was warm, not cold and damp. And, and there's light. And all these colors. And these weird living things that move and run away from us. They made these weird noises. So cool. But THEY always ruined it. We tried to get out on our own, but we couldn't. We didn't know how to open it. The door. And we can't break it. Although, Adriana always tried.

Out of all of us, she got the closest to breaking the door. Once, she was hitting the door and she got mad. Like more mad. More mad then normal. The maddest I've ever seen her. It was a really bad (painful) test that day. She screamed and screamed a lot. When she woke up, she was just... Mad. She went to hit the door. Her hand was like on its way to hitting the door. Then suddenly, a weird light came from her hand. It was orange and reddish. It surprised me. When she took her hand off the door, there was like a hole there. Well, it wasn't really a hole. The door was like pressed in. Adriana stopped. I think she was surprised too. I didn't know what to do.

For a second, I thought we could leave. That maybe Adriana could get us out. But, then we heard footsteps. All thoughts about getting out and being in the warm light left me. _'Whose turn is it?' _I thought. Then I remembered it was Adriana's turn. She was still standing. THEY came in. I think THEY were mad at the sorta hole thing.

The experiment and test have been worst since then. We were so scared. The next time THEY came to experiment, Isabella went to the corner and hide under something. I didn't know what it was. THEY couldn't find her at first. So the experiment happened a lot later. And it was shorter. THEY seemed mad when THEY left. And THEY walked a lot faster when THEY left.

Since then, we hid when the came for us. I hated that room, but it did have a lot of good hiding places. Because of all the things in there. I was hiding in my favorite hiding place. My hair was toward the door, so THEY couldn't see me. That much. My hair was dark like the room. Isabella was hiding under a… thing. I didn't know what it was. Adriana wasn't hiding. I guess that for the best; she was the easiest for them to find. _'It has to be her hair. It's stands out. I can kinda see it from here.'_

Well, nothing to do now, but go to sleep. I hope THEY feed us soon.

* * *

_'Okay, so I have ten fingers. I wonder how many toes I have?..._ _Is that footsteps? No. NO_.' It was. I looked outside of my hiding place. I saw Adriana run to find one of her own. I guess she was going to hide. '_Hope she finds a good place.'_ I saw Isabella look at me, she was close enough that I could kinda see her body. I bet she was sad for me. I was next. It was my turn. I curl up into a tighter ball.'_No…'_

THEY came in. '_Oh, please don't find me!'_ THEY looked around. _'Please, please don't find me! Pretty please?'_ THEY saw Isabella, and for a second, I worried that she would take my place. As much as I didn't want to take my turn, I didn't want her to take it! Or Adriana! '_Maybe I should just leave my hiding place...'_

But then THEY moved on. So, I guessed that I didn't have to worry about that now. THEY moved closer to me. '_Oh, oh! Please don't find me! Please don't find me!'_ I turn my head, so it points down. I hold my breath. _'Please don't find me…'_

It was no use. THEY found me. THEY said something, but I was too scared to try to understand it. One of them grabbed me. I struggled, I growled, I bit- THEY wouldn't release me. I tried everything I could think of. None of it worked. THEY carried me through a door, not THE door (the one that leads outside), but a door. A door that led to another dark room.

"Put her down on the table," one of them said. I stopped fighting. It wouldn't help. I looked over to see the 'table'. I never heard that word before. At least, I didn't remember hearing it. I've heard the words 'put her down' before. I think that means to put someone down. Or to drop them. The table looked like that thing Isabella was hiding under. So that was a table too, I guessed. Cool, I learned a new word. _'My back feels cold now. Oh, yeah. The experiment.'_ I forgot about that. When THEY let me go, I tried to run. To get up. But THEY grabbed my arms and legs.

"Strap her down! We don't want her running away now, do we?" I felt them hold my arms and legs down. Some rough thing was wrapped around me, just below my hands and above my feet. When THEY let go, I tried to move. The rough thing didn't let me. I kept trying. When I stopped, my hands and feet were hurting. They like burned. My eyes felt wet. I was crying. Why did this have to happen? Why! What did we do? THEY put some cold little things on my skin. I looked at them; they had strings connecting to a giant… thingy. I didn't know what it was, but it scared me. I didn't like it. I saw one of them come near me.

"Hello darling, how do you feel today?" one of them said. I didn't know what those words mean, but THEY always said them before the pain started.

"Marcus, stop talking to them. You know they can't under stand you. They have no thoughts, or else Aro would have heard them," another one of them said. THEY usually said that too. So, that meant the experiment was about to start.

"Maybe we should check again, who knows? They might have developed the ability to think like an intelligent creature. They are older," the third one said. _'I don't get it… why hasn't the experiment started? It should have started. Maybe THEY won't!' _One of them came near me. I didn't like him. I didn't like any of them, but I really didn't like him. He touched me. His hand was cold. _'Why was he touching me?'_ When he touched me, I felt a warm feeling wrap itself around me. Or, at least, around my head. I didn't know what that was. But I liked it.

Whenever this one(Aro I think, that was what THEY called him) touched one of us, we felt this warm thing. Well, Isabella didn't feel it. Maybe it was because of her! Whatever it was because of, I felt better knowing it was there.

"Still nothing. Alright Caius, start the experiment," Aro said. Oh no. He said 'start'. That usually means THEY were going to start. _'No, no, no, no, no.'_ I tried one last time to get free. Then, bam. This horrible, odd, painful, painful, PAINFUL feeling took over me. I hated it! I hated it! I screamed. I cried. This metal, coppery taste was in my mouth. My body started to move and I couldn't control it. What was happening? _'Stop! Stop!'_ I couldn't stay still or quiet. I wanted to yell at them to stop, to end this horrible feeling. But I couldn't. I couldn't think of the words! I couldn't focus. _'Stop it! Stop it!' _I couldn't control my body; everything was making these weird quick movements over and over. _'Please stop it!'_ The only thing I could do was scream. '_Stop, please!'_

* * *

The experiment continued for a really long time. _'When will this stop! I want to cry! I want to get away from them. This has to be the worst experiment yet. None of the other ones feel this bad! Please be over soon. Please, please, please! I wonder what- ahh!' _The feeling got worst. The PAIN got worse! Way worst! _'Stop! Please! Just stop! I want the other pain back! It hurt less.'_ I screamed louder._ 'Please, please, stop! Just stop!' _I could barely breathe.

Finally, FINALLY, it stops! I could breathe again. I was breathing really hard. My chest kept falling and rising quickly. I needed more air! I felt so light-headed. One of them got rid of the rough thing. I was too tired to try to run away. I was kinda sleepy. THEY put fingers on my neck._ 'Why? Why are THEY doing that?' _So tried. THEY moved their hands to my hand. I wondered why briefly, before closing my eyes. One of them picked me up. I couldn't move. I was so tired. I wanted to sleep…

I suddenly felt the floor. I think THEY dropped me. I still didn't move. I couldn't move. I heard them talk, but I couldn't figure out what THEY were saying. I heard their footsteps getting softer and softer. THEY were leaving. _'Good.'_ I felt one of my sisters come near me. I couldn't tell who it was. She got closer and started rubbing my back.

"Otay?" I heard. It was Isabella. I knew her voice. And I knew Adriana's voice. She wanted to know if I was still in pain. Or maybe she was worried about me not moving. I was not in pain, but I didn't think I was okay.

"No," I said softly. I couldn't say more. I didn't know what to say. I was so tired. I think she didn't either. She just sat there with me. I went to sleep.

* * *

There was a loud banging noise. I slowly woke up. My body hurt. And I was tired. Not like sleepy tired, the other kind. I slowly got on my hands and knees. Then I turned around and sat. I couldn't stand. My legs felt weak. I looked around and saw Isabella. She was sitting next to me. Right next to me. I looked over to the door. The door that lead outside. The big door. I couldn't really see who was hitting the door, but I knew it was Adriana. It had to be her. My stomach hurt.

"Otay?" Isabella said again. I did feel better. Not so tired. Not like before. But my stomach really hurt. I wanted food. Or water. That would make it stop. It always did.

"Yes," I said, and then I pointed to my stomach, "hurt." That was all I said. She just looked at me, before doing the same. _'Haven't THEY brought food and water yet? THEY always do after an experiment.'_

"No food?" She said no.

"No wawer?" Again, she said no. _'Oh, I guess I'll just have to deal with the pain.'_ I didn't want to.

"Mad?" I pointed to Adriana. _'Why does she keep hitting the door? We know that doesn't work.'_

"A wot," was all she said. I looked back at Adriana. Why was she so mad? She was really trying to break the door. She kept hitting it. Over and over. How wasn't she tired? She stopped and looked at me.

"Help?" I didn't know if I could. I was so tired and weak. But then, I remembered the experiment. That hurt. Really hurt. I wanted to get out of here. That couldn't happen again. Not to me or to my sisters. I didn't want that to happen to Adriana or Isabella. I got up. The hurt in my stomach was gone. Well, not gone. But- never mind

I went over to Adriana. I was going to help. Maybe we could. And I started to hit the door. Maybe we could get out. I wanted to get out. I hit the door harder. _'We will get out. This is not going to happen again.'_ Hit. '_This will not happen to my sisters.' _Hit. '_We will get out.'_ Hit. '_We will get away from them.'_ Hit. '_This!'_ Hit. '_Will!'_ Hit. '_Not!'_ Hit. '_Happen!'_ Hit. '_AGAIN!'_ Hit. Suddenly, I feel a weird feeling in my hands.

It feels like something pushed off from them and went to the door. Like they were connected and this energy was being pumped through. I could feel it hit the door and- for a little a bit- the door stopped it. But then, it didn't. The door bent. The feeling pushed and pushed. Then, the feeling left. Like it was never there. I looked at the door. Adriana was standing next to me, perfectly still. I heard Isabella make a noise. I just stared.

There was a hole in the door. A hole big enough for us to fit through.

**An: I hope you enjoyed this. Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

******Author's Note: ********1/21/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Two**

**The Meeting**

**Alice's POV**

Of all the days this meeting could have taken place on, why did it have to be today? Why? I had been waiting FOREVER to see this movie! And then the Volturi just suddenly decided to demand a meeting on this day. I was so looking forward to seeing the new Shirley Temple film. Now, I had to wait. Splendid…

"Alice, you should calm down. You can see the film in a few days. Don't be rash," Edward the annoying, know-it-all mind reader said. He glared at me. '_What?' _He just continued to glare. _'Alright , alright, I'm sorry! I'm just a little annoyed right now' _Edward just looked away.

We were on a plane. I really could not help but feel a little bit smug at the fact that it was entirely because of me that we could afford to fly. Being psychic was very helpful. Edward sighed. I rolled my eyes. _'Oh stop it! You know it's true.' _He didn't say anything. Nevertheless, I saw a very small smile spread on his face. Ha!

"Darling, what are you thinking about?" my wonderful empathic husband asked. I turned my head to look at him. His hair was blocking my view of his gorgeous eyes. I fixed that.

"Nothing Jazz. Just thinking about how grateful everyone should be of my gift," I answer, stressing the word grateful. Jazzy let out a soft laugh. _'Is he laughing at me? Oh, he's lucky I love him or I would slap him for that.'_ Edward didn't bother to hide his laughter at my thoughts. _'If you say anything to Jasper, or I will ruin your piano.' _That sobered him up.

"Alice, get off your high horse," Richard said. Well!

"Richard,who invited you into this conversation? Be quiet!" I snapped back.

"I don't want to, honey."

"Well, you're going to. Or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else something very bad and embarrassing is going to happen to you."

"And how would you know that?"

"He asked the seriously pissed off psychic," Eric kindly injected.

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" _'He cannot be that stupid…'_

"You cannot be that stupid," Eric said. _'Are we sure Eric is not a mind reader too?'_

"I am not stupid!" _'Yes, you are Richard. But we still love you.'_

"Boys! Stop fighting!" Esme reprimanded. _'Uh oh. Esme is mad.'_

"Yes, mother," the quarreling boys said. _'Maybe I'll get off scott free-'_

"And Alice, it is not polite to boast about your gift. Directly or indirectly." _'Only Esme could make me regret boasting.'_

"Of course, Esme," I dutifully answered her. _'Well now what to do? Uhh… I guess I could just think about what to do when we get to Italy.'_ We had to check into a hotel of course, and then head over to the castle in Volterra. We had to explain our family history to Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I did not know why we had to tell them anything. They had nothing to fear from us.

The Volturi were a peculiar group. With the three kings in charge and- last Carlisle heard- 35 members in the guard. With various gifted Vampires, we really shouldn't be considered a threat to them. We only had nine members in our family. Yes family, not coven. We might have been vampires, but that did not mean we had to call ourselves a coven.

Anyway...

So, we have 9 members. There was Carlisle, our father and leader. He was the oldest. He was changed in 1663. Hewais actually 23 years old, but looks much older. He could pass for mid-30s. The Volturi knew him, so hopefully that would help us. He stayed with them for 21 years, before leaving and moving to England. Then he became a doctor, and met Esme when she was 16. Then 10 years later, he met her again and changed her. Then in 1754, he and Esme moved to the New World (America).

Later, Carlisle met Rosalie- who was near death- and decided to change her. She was 18 at the time. Then in 1821, she found Emmett in a forest, after being attacked by a bear. So she carried him 20 miles- give or take -to Carlisle so he could change him. Emmett was frozen at 20. They have been together ever since.

Then there was Richard. He was like an annoying little brother. You loved him, but you wanted to kill him. Someone needed to teach him a lesson. Put him in his place. Maybe when we got back to America, I'll throw garlic juice at him. It might not hurt us, but it smelled disgusting and the odor didn't go away for like an entire week. Maybe I could get Edward to help…

'_Hey Edward, do you want to help me?' _I asked him. He nodded his head. I focused on the future and after a few milliseconds, I saw a vision of Richard drenched in garlic juice at our house in Alaska. I smiled. Yep, that would work.

Anyway, Richard was changed in 1834 by Carlisle. He was 21 at the time. Carlisle met him in a hospital he was working in. Richard had a fatal disease. And no family. Carlisle and Esme took pity on him because he was all alone. So they gave him a second chance to have a family.

Then in 1878, Jasper, Eric, and I joined the Cullens. Jazz- my handsome husband -was changed in 1767. He was changed by Maria who wanted him in her army. This was during the Southern Newborn Wars. Jazzy was such a great soldier that he became Maria's second-in-command( but really, by this time she was just a figurehead, so he was basically the leader). It also helped that he had a gift- he could read and influence emotions. He used his empathic abilities to keep the newborns calm.

Jazzy changed Eric in 1781, and later made him his second-in-command (so Eric was technically third-in-command). Eric and Jazzy were brothers in every way, but by blood. They went through a lot. Jazzy also had changed two other vampire, Peter and Charlotte.

Jazzy made Peter his third-in-command (technically fourth-in-command) and Peter mated with Charlotte. When Charlotte's newborn year was up, Jazzy was told to kill her. Peter tried to escape with her. Jazzy caught them, but he let Charlotte and Peter go. A few years later, Peter came back. He helped Jazzy and Eric leave.

They stayed with Peter and Charlotte for a few years before leaving in 1809. They traveled around for a few years. Before they met me in 1853 in a café and restaurant, called Parkinson's, in Philadelphia.

Now my story was less eventful. I woke up in a forest in 1832, alone with no memories of my past life. I might have gone savage if I did not have my visions. I could see the future based on people's decisions. I had a vision of the Cullens, specifically Carlisle, telling me about vampires. And about how we could live on animal blood. That was my saving grace.

Later (like a few days), I started to see Jasper. And Eric of course. But I didn't pay that much attention to him. So- using my visions as a guide -I met Jasper in Parkinson's. Then went to meet Eric who was in the forest at the time. I helped them both adapt to the vegetarian lifestyle. Then we went to find the Cullens.

We finally found and joined them in 1878. They were so surprised that we knew them all by name. But of course, they loved us and accepted us into the family. We moved around a lot. Then I got a vision about a Spanish Influenza outbreak in Chicago, so we moved there. Carlisle became a doctor and Esme became a nurse.

One of Esme's patients was Edward Mason. Esme loved Edward and Edward loved Esme because she reminded him of his own mother. Edward's mother died when he was eight and his father remarried to a cold and neglectful woman. Esme took pity on him and spent a lot of her off hours with him.

When Edward's condition got worse, Esme decided to change him. She said that he deserved to have a loving family; she could not let him die like that. Plus, it did not help that Edward begged her to save his life while he was delirious with a fever. He was 17 when he was changed, making him the youngest in every sense of the word. He could also read minds, which could be very irritating.

So now here we were- in 1935 -on a plane to Italy. The Volturi had not heard from Carlisle in awhile, so they invited us to come and visit. An invitation was as good as a demand; you did not turn it down. I knew that we would be able to convince them that we were not a treat and they would leave us alone. I didn't see anything bad happening.

I got a vision. The pilot told us to buckle our seat belts in 5 minutes. Then 5 minutes later, he did just that. About 20 minutes later, we were getting our luggage and walking out the airport. We hailed three taxis (were nine people, give us a break). After quickly checking in and leaving our luggage, we climbed back into the taxi and told the driver to go to Volterra, Italy.

* * *

We got there at about eleven thirty. As we entered the castle, Edward seemed to get increasingly nervous. _'Edward, relax. Nothing bad will happen' _He still did not calm down. Really, did he think I was wrong? I could count the number of times I have been wrong on one hand.

I understood why he was nervous. The Volturi were feared and for good reason. Plus, he had to deal with everyone's thought and who knew( well Edward does) what their were thinking. But really, he didn't need to worry that much. Everyone here- even Emmett and Richard - were going to be on their best behavior _'Seriously, nothing bad will happen' _He was still nervous.

Finally, Jazzy must have gotten sick of his UNNECESSARY worry, because I saw him relax without warning and felt myself calm down a bit. You had to love having an empathic nearby. Edward smiled his thanks to Jasper.

While that was happening, a human secretary- Beth -called in Demetri to lead us into the throne room. So after walking away from the tourist part of the castle, and walking down a few hallways, we came face to face with double doors. Very elaborate double doors. We waited a few seconds, and they opened the doors. They liked theatrics.

We walked in. Carlisle stood in front of us, because he was the leader. Esme stood next to and a bit behind of him. The rest of us stood together. Rose and Emmett were to my left, and Jasper was next to me. Edward, Eric and Richard were to my right.

We stood in the middle of the room, facing the three leaders of the Volturi. All three of them had blood red eyes and pale, translucent skin. On my left was a white haired man who appears to be in his mid-40s. That is Caius. On my right is a black haired (apparently) 19-year-old man. That was Marcus. He has the ability to see the bonds between people.

And in the middle is a jet-black haired mid-20s man. That was Aro. He was the real leader and could read every single thought you have ever had and see all of your memories. However, he could only do that through touch. Aro stood up.

"Carlisle! It's great to see you -and my- you have such a large coven…" He sounded worried. Carlisle needed to defuse the situation. Which he would.

"Actually Aro, this is my family. This is my mate Esme," he pointed to Esme, "and our children, Rosalie, Emmett, Richard, Jasper, Alice, Eric, and Edward," he finished, pointing to each of us. Aro was still wary. At least he was not going to do anything rash…

"Family, well. Congratulations. Did you sire all of them?" Marcus asked. I wondered what he thought about our emotional bonds. '_Probably is impressed by how strong they are.' _Edward smiled at that. The Volturi didn't notice.

"No, I did sire Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Richard. Esme sired Edward and Jasper sire Eric," Carlisle informed them. Their curiosity seemed to overcome their apprehension.

"And what about the others?" Marcus asked.

"Jasper was changed by a vampire named Maria in the Southern Newborn War and Alice doesn't know who her sire is," Carlisle told him. They tensed up at the mention of the Southern Newborn War. Or maybe at the mention of Jasper. I needed to ask Edward later.

"Yes, I believe we've heard of you Jasper," Caius stated. Of course they had, Jasper was a deadly opponent. He was very good at what he did. Very good. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here. A lot of people were scared at him.

"Yes, well then I assume you are well informed of his past," Carlisle responded. They nodded.

"I heard you have a power Jasper," Aro said. Sounded like he didn't know what it was. Odd. Or maybe he was testing us to see if we're going to hold back information. I wouldn't put it above them.

"Yes. I have the ability to feel and influence others emotions," Jasper informed them. They looked slightly impressed. Wait until they hear about my gift.

"Do any other members of you coven- sorry family- have gifts?" Aro asked. He was trying to size us up. Whatever, nothing bad was going to happen.

"Yes. Edward can read what is on you mind at the moment, Eric can change his appearance and Alice can see the future based on peoples decisions," Carlisle told them. All three of them stared at Edward and me. Mostly me. _'Yep, just like I saw.'_

"You can see the future," Marcus said, sounding shock and amazed. I nodded my head.

"And you can read our minds right now," he continued looking at Edward. He nodded his head.

"Well. Those are very interesting gifts," Aro started- wait for it, "I would love it if you joined the Volturi. Especially you, Alice."

"I am sorry, Aro, but I have no plans of leaving the Cullens," I answered. The others needed to answer for themselves.

"I have to decline," Edward said.

"Me too," Jasper answered.

"Sorry, but no," Eric told him. Aro seemed a bit disappointed at that. _'Did he really think he would get any of us to leave?'_

"Are you sure?" Aro asked. The four of us just nodded our heads.

"Aro, my children have made their decision. Now, I believe this visit was for us to catch up," Carlisle said before he could try to tempt us to leave. Like it would work.

"Yes, it is. Carlisle, you have been a dear friend of the Volturi for many years," Aro said, "So I want to believe that you have no thoughts of rebellion… but with the size of your coven, it would be irresponsible of me to assume."

"Aro, I understand. Here," Carlisle stepped forward and offered him his hand. Aro took it and closed his eyes. They stayed that way for a few moments. I waited patiently for Aro to finish reading every thought Carlisle has ever had. I looked at Edward. He was focusing on Aro- probably listening to what Aro was hearing.

Finally, Aro finished. He let go of Carlisle. He went back to his brothers and sat back down.

"Carlisle, I am glad to know that you have had no thoughts of ever rising up against us. Now that that is over, I believe that you still need to inform my brothers of what you have been up to," Aro stated.

"Why, of course. Not to mention, I would love to hear what you've been up to since I left," Carlisle replied.

"But of course!" Aro exclaimed. I smiled. Everything would be fine. But now, we had to hear the three brothers and Carlisle talk for hours. It was noon right now and we were not leaving until sunset, at 9 o'clock.

I could not wait to leave.

**Author's Note: And that's chapter two! Hope you like it. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Edited: 12/23/12**

**So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**So, this is chapter three; it picks up where chapter one ends. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Chapter Three**

**Sweet Freedom**

**Adriana's POV**

One light, two lights, three lights, and four lights. I stopped. Isabella was waiting for me and Melissa was right behind me. That was weird. Melissa was faster than me. She looked tired. She was the one that made the hole in the door, so maybe that made her tired.

"Otay?" I asked. I knew we have to get out of here before THEY knew we were out of the room, but she looked really tired.

"Yes," was what she said back to me. I didn't believe her. But I'll put it out of my mind, I had other things to worry about. We were trying to find the way out of the area outside the door. We weren't outside yet, we have to get out of here first.

"There?" Isabella pointed toward one of paths with lights. _'No, we've went there before. It was before we went down this path. We have to go down that other one.'_

"No, there," I pointed down the other line of lights. That was the path we needed to go down. She looked at it, before nodding her head and running down the path. I followed her, and Melissa was right behind me. We ran. The lights were shining on us, so we could see each other. I could see Isabella's pretty brown hair and brown eyes, and Melissa's very cool black hair and blue eyes.

We ran, following the line of light. We saw other paths up ahead. Isabella stopped, before running on another path. I followed her and Melissa followed me. The line of lights stopped, but we kept going. The door to the outside might have been there.

I slowed down. After running into a wall a few times, I learned to slow down so I didn't get hurt. The light went away; I was too far away now. It was dark. I put my hand out and tried to hear Isabella or Melissa. I heard footsteps. That was it.

"Sop," was what I heard after a few more steps. It was Isabella. She wanted me to stop. I stopped and turned around. This one didn't have a door. I went back. One light, two lights, three lights, four lights, five lights, and six lights. I looked at the other paths there were here. Melissa was already there. Wait, how did she get in front of me?

"There," Melissa said, pointing down another path. She ran. I looked behind me; Isabella was close so I ran after Melissa. I caught up to her. I didn't go ahead. Isabella caught up to us too.

We followed Melissa down this path for a long time. There are other paths, but Melissa didn't stop. We always stopped when we saw another line of lights, so we could pick which path to follow. I wondered why she wasn't stopping.

We finally found the dark area. Melissa slowed down. I slowed down too. I saw Isabella put her hand on the wall before the light go away. I reached out my hand and touched the wall. We continued down the path.

The wall changed. It felt colder and not as bumpy. That was weird; that has never happened before. _'Maybe that's a good thing.'_ I went a little faster. _'Oh maybe we found the right line!'_

Then I felt a wall in front of me. I got sad. So it wasn't this line. My eyes got wet. I was about to go back when one of my sisters grabbed my arm.

"No, there," I heard Melissa said. _'How did she find me in the dark? I couldn't see anything here.' _Melissa pulled on my arm. She started walking and I followed behind her, with her grabbing my arm.

I put my hand out to touch the wall. I kept my hand out on the wall. I feel another wall in front of me. Before I could say anything, Melissa pulled on my arm again. The wall kept going in another direction. _'How did she know that? And where's Isabella? Did she grab her too?'_ I reached my hand out, yep Isabella was there. _'How did she find both of us in the dark?'_

"thee dart, how?" I asked Melissa. '_Could she see? But it's dark. How could she see?' _I couldn't even see her hand and it was on my arm. Melissa slowed down a little, but not by much.

"Yes, wittle. Don't know," she said. So she could only see a little bit in the dark. That was better than I could. And she didn't know why she could see better than me.

"Where? How know?" _'Where are we? Melissa knows where she's taking us. At least, I think she does.' _She wasn't stopping and kept pulling us in some direction. So she had to know._ 'How does she know we're we are? Does she know the way out? I bet she does! Wait, how does she know?'_

"Wast time, know," was all she said. What does she mean by last time?

Well, the last time THEY took us outside, THEY took us down a lot of paths. Then we went down into the dark area and changed direction a lot. I wasn't able to touch the wall last time. If Melissa could see a little in the dark, then she could see how the walls looked. If she could see the walls, then she would know if we were going down the right path. So she could tell when we were in the right area! So Melissa did know how to get out! _'Good!'_ I smiled. _'We're going to get out here! Yay!'_

I sped up, so Melissa didn't have to pull on my arm so hard. She changed direction a lot of times. I still couldn't see anything. I kept my hand on the wall.

A wall came up in front of us again. Melissa pulls us in a different direction again. I felt the wall change again. It had more bumps on it. Melissa stopped and I got really excited. _'Is the door outside here?'_ I started jumping a little. I couldn't help it.

"Here?" I asked. _'Is it here? Is it here? Is it here? Is it here? Is it here? Is it here? Please, tell me it's here.'_ Melissa didn't answer. I stopped jumping. _'Why wasn't she saying anything?'_ Then I heard a weird clicky noise.

"Help, pus." Melissa grabbed my hands and put them on this cold thing. She wanted me to push. I pushed on it. This had to be the door. Melissa said it again, and then I felt more hands on the door. I kept pushing. _'Please open. Please open.'_

The door moved back a little. It was going to open. _'Yay!'_ I pushed harder and harder. _'Come on. Open!'_ It kept moving back. Then light shined in. I closed my eyes. _'Wow, that's bright!'_ It was really the outside. I screamed a little. _'Come on! Open a little more!'_

Finally, the door opened a little more. I stepped outside. My eyes were still closed, but I could feel something warm on me. That was the light. It was different from the lights inside. It was brighter and warmer.

I opened my eyes. I couldn't stop jumping. _'We're outside! We're outside! We're outside! We! Are! Outside! Oh my!' _There was green stuff on the floor and a blue something above our heads. There were also these white things up there. I wonder what those are. They looked soft.

I looked over at my sisters. Wow, they looked different. They were smiling too. _'Oh! I couldn't believe it! We're outside!'_ Melissa looked at me and then Isabella. She clapped her hands. I calmed down and turned to her. Isabella did the same.

"Wun, now." Melissa pointed to a mess of brown things with more green stuff on top of them. She didn't need to say anything else. I couldn't stop smiling. We could run fast now. All the other times we ran, we had to go slow. But now we don't!

Melissa was in the front with Isabella, I guess she wasn't tired anymore. Melissa was trying to run faster than Isabella. Like any one could do that, she was really fast. I tried to catch up, but I couldn't. They were still ahead of me.

The brown things were pasting by us. I loved running. I looked up. The light was bright. It was in the middle of the blue thing. I wondered how long it will stay. One time when we were outside, the light was gone and there was a different light. A smaller one. With a lot of even smaller lights. I wondered when that one comes out.

"Faswer," Isabella yells out to me. She was looking back at me. She was smiling funny. I didn't like it. It was a challenge. I went faster. _'I'm going to beat her.'_

* * *

We kept running until it started to go dark. I looked up; the light was in a different place. The blue thing was different too. It's red and orange. And a little pink. It looked so pretty. I stopped running. _'Wow…'_

Melissa and Isabella stopped too. I pointed to the light. It really looked pretty. Melissa came next to me and sat down. Isabella came to my other side and sat down. I sat down too.

When the light went away, I looked back at my sisters. A long time ago, I noticed the stuff that my sisters and I had on. I knew it was there before, but I never really saw what they look like before. Melissa's stuff was green, while mine was pink and Isabella's was blue. They all looked the same; it hung from our necks and went down to our knees.

They had dark spots on them. I wondered what they were for. I looked up, the smaller light was up there, surrounded by black stuff. The little, tiny lights were up there too. It looked very pretty. I laid down, because my neck hurt now.

After awhile, I looked to Melissa. My middle,wait no it was my stomach, hurt. I needed food. She was asleep, and so was Isabella. I looked back up. I didn't want to get food by myself. So, I had to wait until they woke up. I closed my eyes, I was a little sleepy too.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, Isabella was still asleep, but Melissa was up. She was looking around the brown things and green stuff. I got up and went to her. She looked at me with her blue eyes. They looked like the blue stuff that held the big light.

"Food?" _'Where are we going to get food? And where are we going to get water?_ _I hope we could find some soon, my stomach hurt.'_

"Here," Melissa said. She opened her hand and I saw a red thing in it. I grabbed it. One side was bigger then the other and little things covered it. _'Is this food?'_

"Food," Melissa said, grabbing another. She took a bite of it and smiled. She pointed to the one she gave me. Then took another bite. I guessed it was okay. I put a little bit of it in my mouth and took a small bite.

_'Wow.'_ I pulled the red thing away. It tasted good! I loved it! I took another bite. And another. Then it was gone. I frowned. I wanted more. Melissa laughed at me. That was mean. She was supposed to be nice to me. That was what sisters do.

"Here," Melissa said, after she stopped laughing. In her hand was another red thing. I clapped and screamed a little before grabbing it. I started eating it. Melissa started laughing again. That was still mean. But I didn't care. The red thing tasted good!

I think I woke up Isabella, because when I looked to Melissa for another red thing, she was next to me. Melissa stopped laughing. Melissa got up and started walking away. Melissa looked back and moved her hand for us to follow her. I wondered what she had to show us.

We did follow her, and after a little while, I saw a bunch of green things near the floor. Melissa sat next to one and grabbed something. She held it up. It was another red thing! I ran to her and took it. Mine.

Melissa just looked at me; she was smiling so I didn't think she was mad. She grabbed another and gave it to Isabella. Isabella just looked at it. She looked at me and I smiled at her, so she could know it was okay. I think she got it, because she ate the red thing before getting another one. When I finished, I got another one too.

We kept eating them until my stomach didn't hurt. I smiled. It was so nice being outside. No more pain. Yay! And it was fun here. _'Now, what about water?'_

"Wawer?" I asked. I looked at Melissa. She was awake the longest, so maybe she knew where there was water. She nodded before getting up. Isabella grabbed a few red things before following Melissa.

Melissa took us through the brown things. We past a lot of them. Melissa took us to this blue line of water. I went and scooped some up in my hands. It was cold! I loved it. I drank a little more before leaving the water. I stood by Melissa and waited for Isabella. When she caught up, I looked at Melissa.

"Now, wha?" I asked. I didn't know what to do. We ran a lot yesterday and it was fun, but what do we do today? Melissa smiled before going toward the water.

"Here," she said. I didn't know what she wanted. I went over to her. _'What are we going to do?' _Melissa put her hand in the water and threw it at me.

"Ahh!" That water was cold! _'Why did she wet me?'_ I looked at her and she was still smiling. Well, I knew what to do about that. I pushed Melissa into the water. _'Take that! Meany. I bet that wasn't fun.'_

But she just laughed. I started laughing too. She looked funny all wet. While I was laughing, I didn't notice Isabella behind me until she pushed me into the water. _'How could she! That's not nice!'_

"Meany!" I yelled at her. But she and Melissa were just laughing. _'Well, Melissa was already wet, so…'_ I got up and pulled Isabella into the water. She screamed. _'Ha! You deserved it.'_ While I was enjoying what I did to Isabella, Melissa got behind me and pushed me under the water. I turned around while underwater and grabbed her leg. She fell down into the water.

I got up and splashed some water at Isabella. She splashed some back. We kept splashing the water. Melissa joined in and helped me splash Isabella. She tried to get away, but couldn't move fast enough in the water.

After awhile, Melissa stopped and held up her hands. Me and Isabella looked at her.

"Look," she said before she kicked her feet up and laid on her back on top of the water. Wow, she was lying down on the water! _'How was she doing that! I want to do that! I hope she shows me how!'_

"How," I yelled. I wanted to know! I wanted to do that! Melissa stood up and went to me. She put her hand on my back and pushed on my shoulder. I pushed myself back. At first, I fell down in the water. I got scared and tried to get up, but Melissa held me with her hand. I calmed down because I knew Melissa wouldn't let me fall.

"Calm, hand ow, calm." I put my hands out and calmed myself down. I tried to pretend I was just lying down on the ground. I felt the water, and Melissa, held me up. I closed my eyes. This was fun. I felt Melissa move her hands. _'No! I'll fall!'_ But I didn't. I was still on top of the water. This was so cool!

"Calm, hand ow, calm." I heard Melissa say again. I think she was showing Isabella the same thing. This was so fun. I kept lying down. I wondered how Melissa knew how to do this. I needed to ask her. I stood up and looked at her. I was right; she was teaching Isabella how to lie down on the water.

"How?" I asked. Melissa looked at me and then let Isabella go. I didn't think she understood what I was asking.

"How know?" I asked. _'That should make her understand.'_ Melissa kept looking at me, before smiling. Now, I knew she understood me. I waited for her to tell me.

"No well," was all she said. _'What. She's not going to tell me. No! I want to know! Tell me!'_

"Well!" I yelled. I wanted to know. This wasn't fun anymore. I wanted to know. I crossed my hands and frowned. Melissa just shook her head. I was not going to let this go. I was going to stay mad. Melissa came toward me. She was still smiling, but I was not going to smile back.

Now Melissa was right in front of me. But no, I was not going to smile. I was going to be strong. She just came up to me and-

"Ahh!" I started laughing. _'No!'_ She was moving her hands over my stomach and it felt weird. It made me laugh.

"No s-sop," I said while laughing. _'She needs to stop! Meany. I hate her.'_ Finally, Melissa stopped. I tried to stay mad, but I couldn't. That was fun. And I loved Melissa too much to stay mad. I smiled at her. She smiled back, and then I attacked. Now she was the one laughing and unable to stop. Isabella was standing, watching us.

I stopped. Melissa got up. I looked at her, and then look at Isabella before looking back at Melissa and smiling. She smiled back. _'She knows what I want to do.'_ I nodded my head and then attacked Isabella. Melissa helped. Now Isabella was laughing.

We stopped when her face got all red. _'Now what do we do?'_ I tried to think of something when my stomach started to hurt. _'Oh! We should eat more food. Yeah, we should do that.'_

"Food!" I shouted. They looked at me, and laughed a little, before they got out of the water. I got out too. Me and Isabella followed Melissa back to the red things, because only she remembered where it was. Wow, it was cold. I rubbed my hands on my arms. It was really cold.

I think Melissa and Isabella were cold too. It was warm earlier, but now I felt cold. _'I hope it gets warmer soon._' We finally got to the red things and eat. I loved these things! I wish I knew what they were called. It had to be a nice name. When we finished eating, we went back to the water. Melissa showed us more stuff.

She fell forward into the water and kicked her legs and moved her arms and she was moving in the water. And it was faster than walking. Me and Isabella tried. I did the best. And I found out where she got that idea. This cute little living thing jumped into the water and did the same to get across the water, even though it couldn't touch the floor. It was cool, but me and my sisters couldn't do the same. _'Yet.'_

So we kept playing in the water until it got dark again. Then we got out and went to eat, before we laid down and looked up at the all the light. We were all cold so we were sleeping near each other. Isabella was asleep and Melissa was still awake. I was sleepy. Melissa was touching my hair.

_'I hope that THEY don't find us. This was really fun. I like it out here. We just couldn't go back to that. We just couldn't.'_

That was last thing I thought before I fell asleep.

**Author's Note: And that's it. I hope you liked it. **


	4. Chapter 4

******Author's Note: ********1/31/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Four**

**Revelations **

**Edward's POV**

'_Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. I'M SO BORED!' _I had to resist slapping Emmett.

'_This is boooorrrring! How much longer do we have to stay? I'm sooooo bored! _And I had to resist slapping Richard. He was Emmett's twin, I swore. It was amazing how their thoughts match up. And dear God, why wouldn't they shut up!

'_Edward, you okay? You're look extremely annoyed. I don't even need my power. Richard and Emmett up to their old tricks? They're feeling pretty smug and amused. I pity you right now.' _Jasper had no idea. Well technically, he did. He could feel how annoyed I was. I hated my power at that moment. Jasper sent a wave of calm to me. It relaxed me, until I was bombarded with crude images of my sister that I NEVER wanted to see. And they weren't coming from Emmett.

'_Man, that didn't last every long. What are they doing to you? I really don't envy you.' _I didn't envy me either. I didn't envy me either.

'_Finally! Only a few more minutes until we leave and I can start planning my shopping trip.' _Seriously, the only things Alice thought about were shopping, Jasper, and making Richard miserable. Although, I was very happy to hear that we were leaving soon. I couldn't stand being near Emmett and Richard for much longer. I needed to get away. And hunt. I thought about asking Jasper if he wanted to go hunting. It would have been a good way to relieve all this stress.

'_Oh! Don't stay out too late; Jasper needs to go with me to the stores. I mean, who else is going to hold my bags? And he has to do it, because he's my husband and I certainly can't do it. It'll slow me down! I have a lot of ground to cover before the fashion show in Paris on Sunday.' _Okay, Alice. And what was that about Paris? I hadn't heard anything about that before. I saw Alice's vision of Jasper and I arriving at the hotel at about sunrise, which pleased her.

'_Thank you! Now, I have to convince Carlisle into letting us go to France. The trip wouldn't even be that long. Just a couple of hours. Ooo! I need to go to Milan. That's like the Paris of Italy!' _ I wished her good luck, not that she needed it. The only person who would fight her was Richard. Everyone else knew better.

Not that any one of us really had that much of a problem with it. Esme liked the trips, so Carlisle didn't disapprove of it. I didn't personally care, and it made mom happy, so whatever. Emmett couldn't complain, or Rosalie would withhold sex, which made him more annoying then usual. Eric wouldn't mind, it got Alice out of his hair. Jasper was Alice's husband, enough said. That left Richard. And he only complained to make Alice mad.

'_Edward, pay attention. We're saying good-bye. And try to look calmer, I don't think the Volturi have noticed your… current state of vexation.' _Eric told me. I snapped my attention back to Aro, Marcus, Caius, and Carlisle. He was right, we were saying goodbye. And they didn't notice my mood. I was glad everything worked out. It was such a relief to put this behind us. Of course, I really shouldn't have been that worried- Alice was almost never wrong. Especially when it came to the family's safety.

Anyway, now we can get back to the hotel. This was a horrible nine hours. I mean I could have enjoyed the stories the Volturi had, or seeing the memories play in their heads, but Emmett and Richard ruined it for me. Richard was such a child. He sang that annoying song he made up (that never ever ends! Or so he claimed) for pretty much the entire seven hours. That never failed to get on my nerves.

Emmett had a totally different method. A mentally scaring method. He spent the last nine hours thinking of new things he wants to try with Rosalie in the bedroom. And reminiscing about things they've already done. I was able to avoid most of it by focusing on everyone else, but some things sneak in. I wondered if I could repress memories. Although, that wasn't as bad as what Richard thought. That was just... That just made me uncomfortable. Especially because of who he was thing of.

They got bored of it eventually (near the end), mostly because of my lack of a response. You could tell I was annoyed, but I didn't verbally respond to them and I kept my anger out of my voice when I answered a question from the Volturi. So instead, they started to think about how bored they were. Pure hell the entire time. Just pure hell. I tried to focus on Carlisle and the Volturi, but I couldn't. I needed to hunt badly. I needed to snap something's neck to get rid of all this anger.

"Don't be a stranger Carlisle, do come and visit again soon. It has been a pleasure meeting you and your family," Aro said. _'Such wonderful gifts. They would be a great asset to the guard. But alas, there is no way to convince them to leave their coven- family. Their family. Marcus said they have very strong bonds. Let us just hope they don't decide to rebel against us.'_

"It has been a pleasure seeing you all. I will try to visit again soon," Carlisle responded.

After we all said our goodbyes, we called for the taxis again and got in. I refused to sit anywhere near Emmett and Richard. So instead, I rode with Alice, Jasper, and Eric. Rosalie sat with Emmett and Richard. And Carlisle and Esme rode together.

Venom pooled in my mouth as soon as the door was shut. I swallowed it down the best I could, trying to put out the burning of my throat. It didn't work. Unfortunately, only one thing will quench my thirst. I really needed to hunt. Soon. Now was as good a time as any to ask Jasper. I thought I should ask Eric too. Maybe we could wrestle. They could help me with my fighting skills. While I was a great fighter, it was mostly because of my power. I needed to learn to fight without relying heavily on that advantage. Eric and Jasper were the only ones that could block their thoughts while fighting, so it was difficult for me to win.

"Jasper, Eric, how would you feel about going hunting with me later?" I asked, too fast and low for our driver to hear. I focused on their thoughts, hoping to block out the loud heartbeat echoing in my ears. The driver was not a meal, I told myself. I could not attack him. I really needed to hunt.

'_Why not? I'm feeling a bit thirsty myself' _It was nice to know I wasn't the only one. Being the youngest sucked.

'_Sure. How about a race? I've been dying to beat you again. ' _Who said you beat me in the first place? I let you win because I felt sorry for you.

'_Remember Edward, don't stay out too long.' _Wouldn't dream of it, Alice. I knew better then to come between her and shopping. Everyone did. Except Richard who had a death wish. And sometimes Emmett. I looked outside the window, to distract myself. The human in the front seat was not a meal, I repeated. I could not eat him.

Finally, we reached our hotel. I hurried to my room, struggling to keep a human pace. I quickly changed into hunting clothes, namely black pants and a black shirt that Alice didn't care much about. That meant I didn't have to worry about ripping it. I left my room and waited a few seconds for Jasper and Eric. When they finally emerged from their respective rooms, we headed downstairs. Our hotel was about a mile away from a forest. We walked along a path that passed behind the hotel. That way, we didn't need to see the humans on the street.

We had to walk at a human pace, in case any humans decided to walk on the path. It wasn't so bad; the open air was helping me with my blood-thirst.

"So, what exactly happened back at the castle?" Eric asked.

"Well" I began, "At first, Richard decided to sing to song he titled "My Friend Met a Vampire". It wasn't very good in any sense."

"What? Alright, I'll bite. How does the song go?" Jasper said. I figured why not, as long as they never sang it.

"Fine, but first promise to never sing this song around me, either in your head or out loud," I demanded.

"Promise," Eric said.

"I promise," Jasper said.

"This is how the song goes. Yesterday my friend met a vampire. The vampire was hungry for blood. She didn't want to get eaten, so she told him a story. And this is how it went. Yesterday my friend met a vampire- and then it basically repeats itself over and over. It isn't so bad the first thousand times. But once you hit a thousand and one, it's just hell," I informed them.

"But that wasn't the worst part," I continued. Eric looked intrigued.

"What was the worst part?" he asked. I took an unnecessary deep breath.

"The worst part was... It was... I can't tell you. One, I don't want to repeat it. And two, I don't want anyone killing him, as annoying as he is. But I will say it was inappropriate, " I declared. That was by far much, much worse. And I wasn't even sure he did that on purpose.

"Adult only content?" Eric asked. I nodded my head. He gave a low whistle.

"Emmett?" Eric asked.

"No, and I can't tell if that made it better or worse," I answered.

"Who was he thinking about?" Jasper asked. I shook my head. I wasn't about to throw him under the bus, even if he was the most annoying man in the world.

"That must have been torture," Eric commented.

"Understatement of my life," I stated.

We finally reached the forest. After a quick check to see if any humans were round, we ran. Full speed. I quickly pulled ahead, being the fastest and all. In fact, I was the fastest in the family, despite what Eric claimed. I let him win that race. I held back a little, letting them keep up with me for now. We ran for a few minutes and covered a vast distance. Thankfully, this was an extremely large forest, so plenty of room to run. According to one of the hotel staff, it'\ was in the process of becoming a National Park.

Suddenly, a tempting- yet not nearly as appetizing as human- smell reached me. Deer. It was better than nothing. I listened for their heartbeats. Three were standing near a river, with two further downstream.

I ran toward the herd. Before they even realize what was happening, I jumped in front of the large buck, snapping his neck. I grab one of the females, and sink my teeth into her. Warm, soothing blood oozed into my mouth. The taste left something to be desired, but I still gulped it down. When she was drained dry, I started to drain the buck. Once I was finished, I buried both carcasses.

That was refreshing.

* * *

I rejoined the boys and we went a little further into the forest. Six elks, two wolfs, and three wild boars, we were all filled. Since we still had about three hours until we had to leave, we decided to wrestle. It wasn't going so well for me.

"Edward, don't attack head on. Worse thing you could do," Jasper advised, after Eric beat me for the third time. I decided try.

Eric crouched, ready to attack. I waited for it. I listened to his thoughts, hoping to get something useful from them. Nothing, just Hamlet in German. He sprang at me.

I ducked from under him. I got behind him and went to grab him, but he was able to break free. Eric grasped my arm and pulled it behind me. I managed to get my arm back, and put some distance between us.

"Come on Edward. What's wrong? Can't you beat me?" Eric taunted. Then, just to piss me off, he started to sing that god damn stupid song. I was going to kill him.

I jumped at him, growling. Of course, he was ready for me. I manged to avoid his punches and lunged at his mid-section. I knocked him to the floor. Eric grabbed my shoulders and went to push me to the side. I jumped to my feet. As Eric got up, I grabbed his arm and pushed with my other hand. I twist his arm back and move my head toward his neck- as if I was going to bite him.

"Kill shot!" I yelled. I jumped to my feet. Take that Eric! I just beat him; finally!

"I win!"

"Eric, you're losing your touch," Jasper teased. Eric punched him.

"Shut up, he was bound to get lucky eventually." Eric snapped. That wasn't luck; I just beat you.

"Stop smirking," Eric growled. I shook my head. No way.

"We should leave, it's close to sunrise and Alice wants to go to Milan to shop before we get on a train to get to Paris." Jasper reminded us. Eric shrugged. We hurried back to the hotel. It was never wise to get between Alice and shopping.

* * *

We made it back to the hotel in time to see Alice leading Emmett and Richard out carrying our luggage.

"Get changed and hurry back! We need to get to the train station to board the train to Milan," Alice shouted. She was bouncing. Actually, it was more as if she was vibrating. "Oh, and Edward. Nice job beating Eric. You almost didn't do it. And Eric, just admit he beat you," Alice advised.

'_Whatever. Fine. Congratulations Edward on beating me once, while I've beaten you 82 times and counting.' _Thank you Eric, I ignored everything after beating.

'_Damn, that little pixie is going to dig a hole in the ground. I wish we had someone who could wear HER down. That would interesting.'_

"But Emmett, then we would have to deal with THAT person, think about it. He or she would have to be worse than her," I commented, before leaving to change. _'I take my wish back. I don't want that anymore! Aug, it probably going to happen now, I just jinxed us.'_

I laughed at the serious tone of his thoughts. After walking up the stairs and entering my room, I picked up the outfit Alice left me: black pants, a white button up shirt, and a brown sweater. I dropped my hunting clothes into the open suitcase Alice left before closing it and grabbing a few new books I haven't read yet that were still in the suitcase. I grabbed my suitcase and headed back downstairs.

'_Perhaps I shouldn't have agreed to go. Richard doesn't seem very happy,' _Carlisle thought.

"Carlisle, stop worrying. He's just trying to anger Alice. You know he doesn't really mind," I advised. I said it low, so the rest of the family didn't hear.

"Alright! Get in the car." Alice commanded, clapping and pointed to the car.

"I don't want to. Why do we have to go to Milan?" Richard complained. _'I wonder if I can get her to yell. Maybe even throw a tantrum!'_

"BECAUSE it is the fashion capital of Italy and it's closer to Paris," Alice explained. _'He better not ruin this for me. We ARE going to Milan. They have these amazing dresses I need to buy. Now.'_

"Why do we have to go to Paris?" Richard said, sounding exasperated. _'Come on, throw a tantrum.'_

"There's going to be a fashion show tomorrow, and Esme, Rosalie, and I want to go see it," Alice informed him. _'He's only doing this to annoy me. He was fine with this when I first told him'_

"Then why don't you go, then come back. That way we can stay here," Richard argued. '_I saw that twitch. She's annoyed! Yes! Now to keep it up.'_

"We need someone to carry our bags. Now shut up and get in the taxi! You'll find something to do in France," Alice yelled/growled. Scary little monster. Very scary little monster. _'We need to leave now, or we will be late.'_

"Fine," Richard consented. _'Wow, better not push her anymore. I'm already on her bad side. I'm always on her bad side.'_

He got into the taxi, the smartest thing he has ever done. The rest of our family was already inside one of the taxis. Alice got in after him and closed the door. I climbed into the taxi with Rosalie and Esme. Carlisle was sitting with Eric and Jasper, to discuss something. Emmett was sitting with Alice and Richard.

"Edward, are you alright?" Esme said. _'You seemed unhappy when we left. Did the Volturi think something bad?'_

"No, they didn't. And I'm fine. Emmett and Richard just annoyed me," I quickly told her. I didn't want her to worry.

"The Volturi were happy to see Carlisle and they deemed as not a threat. Nothing to worry about. Although, Marcus did have a weird thought earlier about someone named Melissa. Something about her reaction," I continued. I was curious about that. It slipped through the torture that Emmett and Richard inflicted on me.

"Oh, I wonder who that is. But it isn't really any of our concern," Esme said, dismissing it.

"And I apologize for my husband's behavior. He is such a child sometimes," Rosalie said. _'Although, I wouldn't change that for anything'_

"A perverted child, perhaps." I said, hinting at what his thoughts were. _'Oh, those kind of thoughts. I told him to stop that.' _It was okay, Rosalie.

"What did Richard think?" Esme asked.

"He just sang an annoying song repeatedly," I said. Really, he was the lesser of two evils. We spent the rest of the trip in silence. When we got to the station, Alice brought the tickets and about five minutes later, we were boarding the train.

I was sitting next to Eric. We got on the six o'clock train for Milan. The ride was about three hours to Milan. We would get there just as the stores are opening. For now though, I was going to read.

* * *

'_How many clothes do girls need? They must have brought the entire store!' _Interesting observation, Richard.

"Richard, they have more bags in the car. Come on- we should help, it'll take forever at human speed," I told him. That cloud won't cover the sun forever, so we needed to pick up our stuff now so we could board (yet another) train.

"We have 20 minutes until the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. It'll only be for a few minutes, three at most. Then it'll go away for the rest of the day." Alice informed us, coming out of a vision.

"How are we going to escape the sun?" Eric asked, completely unconcerned.

"Either by going to the bathroom and waiting there, sitting on the bench there," she pointed toward one of the benches, "or entering the gift shop. Anywhere else, there's a chance the sunlight will hit you," Alice answered.

"But you have to get the rest of our bags out of the taxi. Now!" Rosalie commanded.

"Right away, Miss!" Richard fake saluted before grabbing three bags. He always had this 'I'm kidding, but not really' kind of fear towards her. Something about an incident in 1845 involving a stick, tobacco, and a fox. I had no idea what happened, nor did I want to know.

I picked up the remaining four bags, and carried them over to where the rest of our luggage was. After checking to make sure all of our things are there, Alice went to buy nine tickets for the two o'clock train to Paris. The past five hours and ten minutes weren't so bad. I brought a few books full of blank sheet music and some new pieces of music.

For some reason, writing down my music helps me compose. I didn't need to write it down, perfect memory and all. I also didn't need the music sheets; I already memorized the music. It just felt like I should. It was one of those thing you just do because it was the normal thing. Plus, Alice told me I would need them later. She didn't know why. Sometimes, you just don't question things.

"Rosalie, did you really have to buy so many things?" Emmett asked. _'What is with these girls and shopping?'_

"Yes, Emmett. We really needed to buy all these things. Now be quiet or no sex for a month," Rosalie warned. Emmett promptly shut up.

"Okay, go to your hiding places now. The sun is about to come out. Oh! And here are your tickets. Don't lose it. I'm talking to you Richard," Alice said. She handed each of us a ticket. Esme and Rosalie went to go check their hair in the bathroom, while Carlisle, Eric and Jasper went to sit. The rest of us went to the gift shop. I figured that browsing the gift shop would be more fun then just sitting down or waiting in the bathroom.

We entered the gift shop. Richard and Emmett went to see something in the store. I decided to follow Alice; I had some questions for her. A thought of hers had me concerned.

"Edward, it's not a big deal. Really, it is not. I can't see exactly what will happen, but I do see the outcome of it. We are all back home in Alaska. And we are all fine. We are all alive. Happy. Admittedly, I'm curious as to why we are back in Alaska so soon. I guess it's not that odd. Regardless, we have four days until then. Relax," Alice explained to me before I even opened my mouth. She saw what I was going to ask.

"Alice, I just don't like the fact that you can't see major parts of those days. You have to admit, that's a bit worrisome," I whispered, defending myself. That had never happened before. Except with things involving the werewolves, but there were no werewolves in France.

"It's not that I can't see anything, it's that the visions are blurry and it gives me a headache. I rather not look. I was worried at first, but then I saw that nothing bad was going to happen. So I stopped worrying. And you need to stop worrying- everything will be fine," Alice stated. _'Edward, seriously. Relax. Nothing bad is going to happen to us. In fact, this is going to make us happier! Whatever is about to happen, don't ruin it!'_

"Alice, it HURTS for you to see this- whatever it is. Doesn't that worry you?" I asked.

"Edward, I'm telling you: EVERYTHING will be FINE! Oh, there are no werewolves involved in this. They make my visions completely blank. These are just blurry. Blurry enough that I can't tell what I'm seeing. But still, just blurry. And, no I'm not worried. Anymore. Everything will be FINE."

"I can't convince you to drop this and get us out of here, can I? Shouldn't you at least tell the family? They deserve to know," This involved all of us.

"I told Jasper, and I let you know about it. I'm going to tell Esme at the Fashion show and she will tell Carlisle afterward. Jasper is telling Eric. Rosalie will overreact if we tell her, and that will ruin what is suppose to happen. Emmett and Richard can't keep a secret."

"You should still tell them. I repeat: they deserve to know."

"They'll ruin it! Rosalie will demand we leave, and Emmett will side with her. If she doesn't convince us to leave, then she will either leave with Emmett or there will be a lot of tension between us."

"Alright, I see your point. Nevertheless, they'll find out eventually. What will happen then?"

"I'm going to tell Rosalie, Emmett, and Richard that if they had been told, whatever is going to happen wouldn't have. They'll be fine with it then."

"Are you sure?"

"Really?"

"Alright, stop glaring. Stupid question."

"I'm glad you realize that. Come on, the sun is gone and we're about to board."

And that was the end of that. Alice wasn't going to budge on this. I still felt someone should tell Rosalie, Emmett, and Richard, it was only fair. However, if they were going to react that badly, maybe they shouldn't know. Alice showed me Rosalie's reaction to the news- and honestly- Emmett and Richard couldn't keep a secret. Alice was sure that we will love whatever was going to happen. I guessed it was okay, as long as no one got hurt.

"Alice, what time will it be when we get to Paris?" Emmett asked, as we stepped into the train car. _'Are we going to be stuck in the hotel, pretending to be asleep?'_

"It'll be about four in the morning," Alice told him, standing behind him.

'_Maybe Rosalie will like to go into the forest for a little fun. We'll have a few hours before Alice takes her away. A perfect way to spend a night, right Eddie?' _Whatever Emmett. I hated when he called me Eddie. Alice's face went blank for a second. I peeked at what she saw before quickly focusing on the mundane thoughts of the humans around us. I didn't need to see that.

"Ugh. Emmett, make sure you're far away from the hotel before you two do that," Alice demanded. I nodded my head. I didn't need to hear those kind of thoughts again.

"Do what?" Rosalie asked, looking suspiciously at Emmett. She showed her ticket to the guard. Emmett walked over to her, smiling cheekily before whispering in her ear his… plans.

"Oh," Rosalie said, before smiling -I presumed- seductively at Emmett. I didn't need the mental images Rosalie. I could live without it, thank you very much. I showed my ticket to the guard.

"Come on. Let's get to our seats," Alice urged. I hoped this route at least had good scenery.

"I can't wait to get to Paris!" Alice squealed. She sat down.

'_Damn, I hope my ears stop ringing soon. Stupid, high-pitched pixie' _Amusing thoughts from Richard.

'_Oh, I can't wait to see what will happen! See Edward, we're going to be fine. And happy! Well, that's weird. I wonder why Carlisle looks so worried. It can't be because of one of us, we're all fine.' _Wait, worried? That wasn't in your visions before. That couldn't be a good sign.

I decided to tell Alice my apprehension. A vision depicting just that pulled Alice in.

'_Edward, like I thought, everyone else is fine. I don't know for whom he is worried. It's weird. I haven't seen that before. Regardless, we are still happy, and a few weeks later, no signs of worry. But it looks like we're staying in France longer now' _How odd. Why would we stay here longer? That had me curious. I wondered what will happen.

_'There's no need to worry. The chances of this other future happening is really low. I'm sure we can prevent it.' _Wait, what other future? I decided on what to say once again.

_'Just a few snippets, suggest a different outcome. One where apparently something goes wrong. We take it harshly. Especially mom. But I only see a few like that, it's totally outnumbered. So as long as we try our best, I'm sure the outcome will be good.' _Wait, what do she mean Esme takes it hard! No no, maybe this wasn't a good idea. What if more of those visions pop up. I couldn't let mom get hurt. I just couldn't.

'_Edward, don't! Please, don't! This is going to be a good thing. And I'm not saying that because of the visions, okay. I just have a feeling; I can't explain it. But I know things will be fine. I just know. Please, don't ruin this. Please." _She sounds serious. And desperate. Fine Alice, I won't say anything. I hoped she was right.

I stare out the window. Thankfully, the scenery on this trip was amazing. Especially because of the fading daylight. I was so glad Vampires had such incredible eyesight; it made the sight so much better.

'_Yesterday my friend met a vampire. The vampire was hungry for blood. She didn't want to get eaten, so she told him a story. And this is how it went. Yesterday my friend met a vampire' _God, no! Richard just stop.

"Richard, stop it! Or I will tell everyone what you thought yesterday during the meeting with the Volturi, " I threatened. I was not going through that again. Richard looked horrified; I had to laugh at that. And it seems Alice, Jasper, Eric, and Emmett agreed with me on that. His face was too funny.

'_My Rosie looks so hot. I can't wait-'_

"Emmett, I will tell Rosalie what you thought last week," I warned him. He looked nervous and Rosalie looked intrigued. I shook my head. As long as Emmett kept his thoughts under control, that piece of information would stay with me.

I watched Emmett for a few moments, and after hearing only clean thoughts, I turned back toward the window.

'_Nice job little brother. Hope that will keep them inline.' _It was nice to know I still had some decent brothers, so thanks Eric.

'_Is it wrong to hope that Richard messes up? O kinda want to know what he thought,' _No... No... If Alice knew what she thought, she would take that back.

'_Richard is honestly scared. And Emmett is unnerved. Way to go!' _Thank you for informing me, Jasper.

I looked at the twinkling stars. I hoped everything works out for the best.

**Author's Note: Please, review. Even if it's just a short little message. Please. I want your opinion.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Edited: 12/23/12**

**So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**And, can any of you guess how old the girls are?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Chapter Five**

**Playtime**

**Isabella's POV**

My head hurt. A lot. I put my hand over my eyes, because some light was hurting them. But they were closed, so they shouldn't have hurt. _'Why are they? And why does my head hurt?'_ It hurt a lot. It hurt like that time THEY made us run and run until we wanted to fall and then we had to pick up all this really heavy stuff. I was so tired after that, and my head started to hurt a lot. _'But this hurt worse!'_

"I-sa-bel-la. Up!" _'Who said that? No, be quiet! I don't wanna get up!'_ Someone was shaking me. _'Stop it!'_

"I-sa-bel-la!" '_Go away! Who ever is there, stop it! Wait, only Melissa can say my name. Adriana just says Isa. Go away Melissa! I don't wanna get up.'_

"Up!" _'Don't wanna! Why should I?' _Melissa wouldn't stop shaking me. I moved my hand and tried to open my eyes.

"Ow!" I closed my eyes again. _'The light hurts! Now my head hurts more.'_

"Hurt?" _'Yes, Melissa. My head hurts. Leave me alone, you annoying big sister.'_

"Head," I say. I sounded weird. I wished it was quiet. I wished Melissa was quiet! Well, even if Melissa was quiet, there would still be sounds. I heard some like high, short noises from up. Like above my head. Somewhere up there. I didn't know what they were, but I wished they would stop. And I could I hear someone walking near me. I think that was Adriana. Melissa was here, next to me.

"Food. Up." Melissa kept shaking me. I opened my eyes again. My head hurt worse, but I ignored it. Melissa wasn't going away and my stomach did hurt. I needed food.

"Come." Melissa grabbed my hand. She pulled me somewhere. I rubbed my eyes. I couldn't see very well. Everything looked blurry. I closed my eyes and rub them. _'Maybe that will help.'_

"Food." I opened my eyes again and saw Melissa put one of those red things from yesterday in my hands. I sat down. I was tired. And something wet was coming out of my nose. I was trying to wipe it off.

I opened and closed my eyes a few more time. Then I could see better. Once I could see, I looked around. Adriana was sitting near one of those brown things and Melissa was standing, getting more of those red things.

Adriana didn't look good. Her eyes were watery and she kept rubbing them. And her nose was a little red. I wondered if she felt as bad as me. I think she did. Melissa didn't seem good either. Her face was red, and so was her nose. _'I should help her.'_

I stood up. She needed help. I got some of the red stuff and gave it to Adriana. Then I sat down and started eating. Melissa came over and sat down too. Then she started eating. When we finished eating, we went and drank some water. We didn't play in the water. I didn't feel like playing in the water. Wow, it was cold today. Really cold. I didn't like it. It was cold yesterday too.

"Achoo!" _'Whoa, what was that?' _I looked at Adriana. She was rubbing her nose and her eyes were watery, like she was crying. _'Is she sad? I hope not.' _I went over to her and rubbed her back. I didn't want her crying.

"Wook!" Melissa yelled. I turned around, to look at whatever it was. Melissa was pointing at a brown living thing. It had four legs and a little white tail and stuff sticking out of its head. It was so cute! It was eating the green stuff on the floor. _'That's eatable?'_

"Aww!" Adriana jumped to her feet and ran toward the living thing. I got up and followed. _'Oh no, I going to be the first to meet the living thing! Back off!'_ But Adriana got there first. _'That's not fair; she got up first.'_ When I got there, the brown thing was running away. It kinda jumped when it ran. It was cool.

"Shase!" Melissa yelled while running by us. I loved chasing! I chased her, but I couldn't catch up to her. _'Not fair! She started running first. Why are they being so unfair today?'_ Finally, I caught up to her. After I passed her, I started looking for the brown thing. _'I'm going to touch it!'_ I looked everywhere for it.

I ran in between really big brown things that stick out of the ground. I stopped and touch them. It was really rough. I wondered what it was. Adriana's yell got my attention. _'No! She found them first. Uhg!'_

I ran really fast. I had to move around green things that stick out of the ground, so that slowed me down a little. But I still got to Adriana before Melissa. She was hiding behind a big green thing, looking at the living thing. I got next to her and hid too. I didn't what to scare it away.

I watched it for a little. Its head was near the ground, it was eating the green stuff again. I wondered what it tasted like. I grabbed some of it and rip it out of the ground. I put a little of it in my mouth. _'Eww.'_ I stuck my tongue out and wipe it off my tongue. _'Gross. How do they eat that?'_

After I got all of it out off my tongue, I looked at the living thing again. It was still eating that green stuff. _'I wonder- hey, where's Melissa?'_ I looked around. I didn't see her. I saw Adriana; she was next to me, but I didn't see Melissa. _'Did we lose her? Oh no! We have to find her! I want my sister back!'_

I started to look around again. _'Maybe I just didn't see her.'_

"Up." '_Wait, that's Melissa. Oh good, I didn't lose her. I don't wanna lose my sister. Where is she? Wait, she said up._' I turned my head. There she was! She was sitting on the brown thing. _'How did she get up there?'_

I poked Adriana and pointed to where Melissa was. She looked surprised. I looked around the brown thing. _'How did she get up there?'_ Then I saw this part where the brown thing kinda stuck out. _'I could climb that. Then climb to that other place where it sticks out... I'm going to do it!'_

I grabbed the top of it with my arms and jumped. I held on to the top and kicked the brown thing with my feet. I got on the sticking out part. It was hard. I had to try again cause the first time it didn't work. But I did it! It was even harder climbing to the second part, but I did that too. And I only fell once. Adriana tried it and she fell like three times. Or four. I was distracted. When I got high enough, I sat next to Melissa.

Wow, I could see a lot from up there. A lot! I could see that brown living thing we were looking at, and some small like reddish things. No, it was more like orange. No, red. Oh, and there was some gray, white, and black things. They looked the same, but they were all different colors. I liked them. They were cute.

So, while I was looking at the living things, Adriana was climbing up the brown thing. She finally made it up here. She looked kinda tired now. _'She'll get over it quickly. I'm bored now. And hungry.'_

I climbed down the brown thing. We needed to look for food. And water. I didn't remember how we got here and I didn't think Melissa did either; we ran a lot. So we needed to find new food and water.

"Food. Wawer," I yelled at my sisters. Melissa shook her head up and down and then started climbing down. Adriana seemed scared.

"Down," I yelled. She still won't come down. Melissa stopped climbing down and went to Adriana. She showed Adriana how to climb down. And caught her when she slipped. She almost fell three times. Good thing Melissa was there.

They finally got down from there. We kinda just stood around for a bit, not knowing what to do. _'Where do we go?'_ Melissa looked around, before pointing in some direction. _'I guess were going in that direction. Why not?'_

I started walking in that direction. I looked at all the green things that popped out of the ground for something to eat. Something like the red things Melissa found. I didn't have to look for water, I could hear where there was some. _'I wonder why that water makes a sound. When I put it in my hands, it doesn't make a sound. But when it's on the ground, it does. Maybe it's because it moves. That's weird. Water is weird.'_

* * *

We kept looking around for food for a long time. My stomach really hurt now. We drank some water a little bit ago, because we were close to the water. Now, we just had to eat. Then we could play again! I wanted to play some more.

I really wanted to play again. But we couldn't until we find food. I was upset. I really liked playing here. After a while, my head started hurting again. And not like hurt hurt, but HURT hurt. And I felt cold. And I couldn't breathe through my nose. Well, I could, but it's hard. I felt like I did earlier, but a lot worse. _'Maybe I'll feel better after we eat. When will we find food? I feel like we've been looking for food forever. I want to play again.'_

"Here!" Adriana yelled. Yay! She found food. Time to eat! I ran toward her voice. Adriana was on the ground, with a pile of little dark blue/ purple things. They were little. _'I hope she found a lot of them.'_

I sat down next to her and started picking up some of the blue things. I looked at Adriana, she was picking more little blue things off this green thing. I looked around. _'There are a lot of blue things here. Good.'_

I smelled the blue thing. It smelled good, I liked it. I put one in my mouth. _'Oh, yum! It's good. It's really sweet! I love it!'_

I ate some more. One by one. While I was eating, I looked around for Melissa. _'Where is she- Oh there she was! Wow, she's late. She must have been far when Adriana yelled.'_

"Here." I said, handing her some of the blue things. She tried one before putting the rest in her mouth. Sure, you can eat them that way. I liked eating things one at a time. That way, the food didn't get stuck when I swallowed. That happened a lot to me. I always had to eat things slowly. It happened to Melissa and Adriana too, but not as much.

We ate for a while. Well, I did. Melissa and Adriana finished eating before me. So they waited for me. But then they got bored. So they started playing. They were chasing each other. Melissa was trying to get Adriana. Adriana wasn't the fastest, but she was fast enough that if you looked away, you would lose her. It could be hard to find her; she wasn't not as good as us at hiding, but she was still good.

I finally finished my food. I didn't go join my sisters immediately. I watched them for a little while. I watched Adriana struggle to stay hidden from Melissa and struggle to find her. Melissa was very good at finding stuff- she notices the smallest things!- and she was good at finding good hiding places. It was hard to beat her.

But Adriana could keep anything up for a long time. While me and Melissa would be tried and resting, she would still be going. She was using that to keep Melissa from winning too easily. Whenever Melissa found her, she would run and try to stay away until Melissa got tried and stopped to rest. Then she would hide again.

She had a strategy to win when she was chasing too. And when it was her turn to get Melissa, she would look everywhere. EVERYWHERE. And when finally found Melissa, she'd chase Melissa until Melissa got tried and slowed down. She wouldn't stop until Melissa slowed down.

I was trying to figure out who to join. I could have helped Melissa find Adriana, or I could have helped Adriana. _'I think I'll help Adriana. I've already found a few good hiding places. Plus, it would be more fun hiding from Melissa.'_ I waited until Adriana caught Melissa and it was her turn to run and hide.

But then I decided not to wait. I decided to hide first, and then when Adriana went to hide, I'd pull her into my hiding place. I got up- making sure that Adriana and Melissa didn't see me- and went to hide. I crawled behind a green thing and into a hole in a big brown thing. I got really close to the ground and waited. I looked through the holes in the green thing to watch my sisters.

Finally, Adriana grabbed Melissa. So now she could hide. Melissa walked away, so Adriana could find a place to hide. Adriana ran to a brunch of places, seeing if she could hide there before moving away. When she got close, I called her. Softly, so Melissa wouldn't hear.

"Adwi! Adwi!" I whispered. _'I hope she can hear me.'_

"Isa?" _'Yes, Adriana. It's me. Come here, I have an awesome hiding place!'_ When she got closer, I pointed to the spot next to me. She looked confused, but then she got it. She smiled and crawled next to me. Now to wait for Melissa.

* * *

We didn't really wait that long. She looked in a lot of other places, before moving close to us. At first, I thought she saw us. But then she looked away. And then walked away. She so didn't see us. I picked the bestest hiding place ever. _'I am awesome!_

Now that she was gone, I decided that we had to find another hiding place. Because I just realized that it was hard to get out of our current hiding place, and if she found us, we couldn't run away. _'Need a better one. But where?_'

I grabbed Adriana's hand and pulled it. Then I crawled out. I looked around after standing up. '_Where to hide now?'_

"Wook," Adriana said. She was pointing at a brown thing. _'Oh, that's perfect! It's not that high, we can totally climb up there! No way would she look for us there._' I ran to the brown thing.

After a few tries, we finally got up on the brown thing. _'She won't see us, she won't see us. We're going to win, we're going to win.' _We waited for a while, and Melissa came back. She was looking around again. _'Where was she- Oh! Good thing we move.'_ She just found our old hiding place. If we stayed there, she would have found us.

Melissa looked mad. _'I don't think she likes not being able to find us. Too bad. I like it. I am so excited! And happy! You can't find us, you can't find us. Yay!' _Melissa kept looking around. When she finished, she kicked the ground and walked away. She was mad. _'Yay!'_

Adriana looked just as happy as me, 'cause we are beating Melissa. She couldn't stay still. She had to stay still! She was moving the brown thing. _'Melissa will find us!'_

"Calm!" I said- quietly -and then grabbed her. I tried to keep her still. She calmed down, but I think Melissa heard us. She was coming back. _'Oh no!'_

We got really quiet. _'Please don't look up here._' Melissa walked around and looked everywhere. Then she got really close to the brown thing. _'She's going to find us!'_

But then, she walked passed us! She didn't find us. We were still winning. Now if only finding her was this easy. She was such a good hider; but me and Adriana should be able to find her. Or at least, I could hide with Melissa. _'No, wait. I'll hide in my own hiding place. And see if Adriana can find me. Or, Adriana and Melissa could hide, and I can go find them. That could be- ahh!'_

"Ahh!" Adriana and I yelled. _'Melissa!'_ She scared us. _'How did she get here? No really, how did she get here? Oh man, she found us. That means we're not winning anymore. Now one of us has to go find the other two. It's not fair to have two of us looking.'_

Melissa was smiling. _'Whatever, she won't find me next time.'_ Adriana looked sad, like me. _'Well, it'll be fun to look for Melissa and Adriana. Oh, we better get down.'_

"Down," I told them. We had to be on the ground to keep playing. I got down first. _'Now to wait for the other two. Hey, what's that?_' There was a itchy red spot on my arm. It was really itchy. _'I need to scratch!'_

While I was scratching the red spot, Melissa and Adriana finished climbing down. They walked over to me. Melissa asked if I was okay. I told her I was itchy. Then Adriana joined us.

"Hide?" Adriana asked.

"Hide," I told her. I pointed at her and Melissa.

"Find," I pointed at me. Melissa smiled and Adriana got really excited. They left to find hiding places. I waited. And scratched. It's itchy! Finally, I went to look for them._ 'They've had enough time.'_

* * *

So, I was able to find Adriana first. She picked a good hiding place. If I didn't fall, I would have never seen her. And if she didn't fall, I would have never caught her! Anyway, after I caught her, she helped me find Melissa. She picked a good place to hide. It was behind these gray things. I almost didn't look there. Me and Adriana ran after her. Adriana was the one that caught her.

We kept playing for a while, until we went to eat again. I liked the little blue things. They were easy to eat. But I still have to eat them slowly. Melissa was too. She was eating them fast and one got stuck! She got it out, but it took awhile. I didn't know what to do. She turned kinda blue. That scared me.

But then it was over. That itchy, red spot still hadn't gone away. _'I think it's bigger.' _And I didn't feel so good. My eyes were all watery and I was breathing funny. And my stomach hurt. I didn't like it.

_'Maybe if I go to sleep, I'll feel better.'_

**AN: Thank you for reading, favorite and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: 2****/11/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Six**

**Girl's Day Out**

**Esme's POV**

I couldn't shake this feeling that Alice was hiding something. She wasn't acting strange and this sudden trip to France wasn't out of character for her. Just last month, she talked Rosalie and I into going to New York City. I had no reason to think she was hiding something, and yet I couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something. Just something about her was off. Something in the way she was acting was different. I had to question her about it later.

Setting that aside, the train ride to France was pleasant. The scenery outside was wonderful- very beautiful- and amazingly, no one fought. That was strange, to say the least. Richard and Alice normally couldn't go more than six hours without fighting. The two of them just clashed. Although, in the end, I knew they cared for each other. So siblings fight, nothing strange there. I knew that already.

I wondered what Alice had planned for us when we got to France. She mentioned going to a beauty salon. Well, it would be nice to get a manicure and pedicure, and perhaps get my hair done. It was nice to spend time with just the girls. As much as I loved the boys, they could be a bit... of a handful. Even Carlisle at times could get on my nerves, although not often.

I wished Edward, Eric, and Richard would find their mates, since that might level them out. And, of course, it would make them happy, which is what every mother wants. And then the boys wouldn't outnumber us 2 to 1. That would be a nice bonus.

"Esme, is it me or does Alice seem to be keeping something from us," Carlisle whispered into my ear. He spoke soft enough that they other couldn't hear him.

"I have the same feeling. But it can't be anything serious, or she'd tell us about it." I whispered back, just as softly. I was sure she would tell us if it was something important.

"Of course. I'm just curious as to what she's hiding," Carlisle whispered. _'You and I both.'_

"Me too. Do you think she'll tell us eventually what it is?" I asked.

"Of course. In the mean time, why don't we go to the opera on Monday? Just you and me," Carlisle whispered, while wrapping his arm around my waist. _'Oh, what a sweet man. Even after two centuries.'_

"What about the children?" I whispered back.

"Esme, they're not exactly children. They can take take of themselves. They're mature. Well," Carlisle paused and looked over at Richard and Emmett, "Most of them."

Edward chuckled, probably at whatever thoughts Carlisle had accompanying that comment. I smack Carlisle on the chest, teasingly, and gave Edward a scolding look. _'Don't laugh. You can be pretty immature too at times. Need I remind you of the 1925 piano incident.'_

Edward gave me a sheepish smile, before turning back to face the window. The rest of our family just ignored this exchange. Edward eavesdropping via thoughts was nothing new. I leaned my head on Carlisle's shoulder. _'Now, what we talking about? Oh, yeah. The opera. I have to say, it would be fun to go out, just him and me. Why not?'_

"Why not? I'd love to go to the opera with you," I whispered to him. He smiled and tightened his grip around me. I turned my head to look over my family, when Alice caught my eye. She seemed like she was coming out of a vision and -if the look on her face was any indication- the vision wasn't exactly a desirable one. She seemed a bit disturbed and slightly confused. I wondered what she saw.

I guessed Alice felt someone's eyes on her, because she suddenly snapped her head toward me. She gave me an uneasy smile, I guessed to assure me. Didn't work. I just started at her, until she finally broke and mouthed 'later' to me. Only then did I break eye contact.

I leaned back against my mate. _'Still two hours left until we reach Paris. Back to staring out windows.'_

* * *

Three hours later, the sun was rising and we were checking into hotel. The train station was an hour ride from the hotel. To keep up appearances, we all had to pretend as if we were tired. That meant yawning, acting grouchy, and just looking sleep deprived. At least we already had the bags under our eyes.

Anyway, on the way to the hotel I rode with Alice and Rosalie. Alice was informing us of her plans for today. We were going on a quick shopping trip, before heading to a beauty salon. When we were done there, we would head back to the hotel, change clothes, and then go to the fashion show. And at sometime during this, Alice was going to tell us about her vision._ 'Seems I wasn't the only one that noticed that odd expression on Alice's face.'_

Rosalie confronted Alice on it, and after a few minutes, Alice told us 'later'. When was later? Well, as long as later was today, I guessed it didn't matter. I was not going to let that ruin today. If it was really that important, she would tell us. I was sure she would; she always had before.

Back to the present. We just finished bringing our luggage to our suite. It had four rooms, a kitchen, and a small living area. Good for us, we can stay together. And every couple had a room for themselves.

Not much to do now, since the girls and I had to wait about four hours until the stores opened. Rosalie and Emmett left, saying nothing about where they are going. Judging by the looks on Alice's and Edward's faces, I didn't think I wanted to know.

Eric decided to try to read, so he went to his room. The one that wasn't claimed by a couple. Richard followed him. Why? I didn't know, I just hoped he wouldn't annoy him; I didn't want to have to break up a fight. I stayed in Carlisle's and my mine room. Alice and Jasper went to their room. Edward stayed in the living room, which had a piano. Considering Alice booked this hotel, I didn't feel that was a coincidence.

Carlisle and I discussed our patients and recent medical advances; just things like which course of action we should take and such. I might have mentioned my annoyance at all the female nurse flirting with my husband. Didn't they have any shame? Worst part was I work with them, and with my hearing, I can hear all their comments first hand. I agreed with them, but I didn't want to hear them from other women.

Carlisle just told me to ignore the other nurse. Not unreasonable advice, but the way he said it made me mad. He said it like I was jealous. Didn't appreciated that. I wasn't jealous. They just annoyed me. They could look, but that was it. I could do a lot more. Whenever I wanted. Why would I be jealous? It was more like a combination of pity and slight disgust. It was inappropriate for them to say stuff like that about a husband, their coworker- who was married to the another co-worker. That was not done in good taste.

Moving on from that, we talked about moving. I liked Alaska and the small town we were staying in. But I think it was time for a change in scenery. And the rest of the family had been hinting that they want to move. And the humans were looking at Richard oddly. We needed to move.

The question was where.

"We could move to New York. Maybe one of the small northern town," Carlisle suggested. We were laying on the bed. I lifted my head slightly from where it was laying on his chest and shook it. Then dropped it. I hoped we had a lot more time left before I have to leave with the girls. I was too comfortable to move. With Carlisle holding me, I felt so safe. _'What were we talking about again? Oh yeah.'_

"Michigan?" Carlisle suggested. I shook my head again.

"Washington?" Again, I shook my head.

"Oregon?" No

"Where then?" He finally asked. I thought about it for a few minutes.

"I don't know," I finally replied. Carlisle gave me a look. One that said I was being completely insufferable. I smiled cheekily in response. He just looked at for a few moments.

"I hate you," he finally said.

"Love you too," I replied. He chuckled.

"So, where are we going to move?" My sweet husband said after a few moments of silence.

"No idea. Why don't we ask the rest of the family for their opinion?" I suggested. The second those words left my mouth, Richard burst through the door. I gave him a stern look for interrupting us. Didn't faze him.

"Where do you want to live Richard?" I asked sweetly with a sigh.

"Well, I want to move to Pennsylvania. Particularly Philadelphia," Richard announced. He was still smiling, like he won the lottery.

"Okay, I'll bite. Why Philadelphia?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. Why there?

"Why not Philadelphia?" He retorted. Good point.

"Good point. If no one has any objections, I don't see why not," I replied, not caring about his reasons. I looked at Carlisle, who just shrugged. Guess he agreed.

"Sweet!" Richard exclaimed. He was such a child at times. And he was still in our room. Why was he still in our room?

"Richard sweetie," I said sweetly, "Get out". Richard gave me a mock salute and promptly left. Such a weird boy.

"Esme, it's time to leave! Come on, we have a lot to do today," Alice said, from the other room. Great. Groaning, I untangled myself from Carlisle and got on my feet. Checking myself quickly in the mirror, and figuring I look presentable- and that Alice would tell me if I didn't- I left the room.

Alice was already waiting by the door. I could hear Rosalie still in her room. I waited with Alice for a few moments and then we were on our way. Inside the taxi, Alice told us in greater detail what we were going to do.

"So, first we'll go to that cute little store on 27th st. There was this adorable red dress I need to get. Then we'll go to 29nd st for accessories. You know hats, shoes, jewelry- the works. By the time we're done there, we should have just enough time to go to the movies before we head to beauty salon to get our hair and nails done. Oh, we going to look so beautiful!" Alice gushed.

"That sounds wonderful, Alice," I replied.

"What movie?" Rosalie asked.

"L'Atalante," Alice answered, "You're going to love it."

"So when are you going to tell us about you vision?" Rosalie asked after a few minutes of silence.

"While we're shopping, I promise," Alice said, putting her hand over her heart. Good. Not knowing is really starting to get to me.

"Alright, so what do we talk about for the rest of the ride?" I asked, knowing we still have about 48 minutes until we reach the shops. Our hotel is not only spacious and oddly void of guests, it was also on the outskirts of Paris. Perfect for us when we want to get any from humans, not so much when we want to go shopping.

"How about we talk about the guys?" Rosalie suggested, with a smirk firmly on her face. Those are always interesting discussions.

"Oh, I have the perfect thing to share. So about two weeks ago, Jasper and I were out hunting when..."

* * *

"And Carlisle is still harping about that," I told them, all the while giggling. The taxi was finally pulling up to our first destination.

"Oh my. So that's why he smelled like that?" Rosalie manged to ask in between laughs. Alice couldn't get enough air to make an attempt at talking. Thank goodness we didn't need to breathe.

"Yep," I replied, getting out of the car. The girls followed me, calming down a little.

"Men. What are we going to do with them?" Alice commented, when she stopped laughing.

"I have no idea," I answered her. We head into the first store. We browsed the clothes in silence for a few minutes, when Alice broke the silence.

"Okay, before I tell you what I saw, I feel like I should share this first. Originally, I wasn't going to tell you Rosalie- or Emmett and Richard. Not because I didn't want to!" Alice assured her, seeing the hurt expression on Rosalie's face.

"It's just that telling you drastically changed the vision- and while it wasn't bad for us- I pretty sure that would hurt the other party involved. You understand, right?" Alice said. Rosalie hesitantly nodded.

"Kinda. Explain what the vision was." Rosalie said. Alice picked up a dress to examine it before continuing.

"Okay, first I want to state that I've been having weird visions since the meeting with the Volturi. At first, it was just random places. The visions wouldn't have interested me if it wasn't for them changing. They suddenly became blurry. And trying to focus on them gave me an odd headache,"Alice stated.

"Wait, they gave you headache? Alice that can't be good!" I said, struggling not to raise my voice. We were still in a public place.

"It worried me too. But then I saw that we were all fine. So I stopped worrying. Instead, I got curious. I tried to figure out what was happening in the visions. The most I got from them was that they took place in France," Alice replied.

"Is that why you wanted to go to France?" Rosalie asked.

"No. I wanted to go to France prior to seeing these visions. The visions just solidified my decision," Alice answered. I nodded at this, going over the information she gave us.

"Moving on. After I firmly made that decision, I got more visions. They all had the same characteristics. They started off normal, just some random place- sometimes a forest, sometime our hotel suite, even our home in Alaska a couple of time. Then it get extremely blurry and I couldn't tell what was happening. Occasionally I could make out one of the members of our family. Carlisle, Emmett, and you Rosalie were the ones I could recognize so far," Alice continued.

"Are you sure nothing bad will happen?" I asked, nervously. The fact she couldn't see what will happen unnerved me.

"From what I saw before, I was positive nothing bad was going to happen. Despite not being able to see the event, I could see a few pieces of the outcome. I could see all of us well and happy. Like really happy. I can't see what had changed, but it was a good thing," Alice insisted. _'Wait, that was in past tense.'_

"What's changed? Obviously, something has," I asked. She didn't look happy to see that vision on the train.

"I honestly don't know. But lately my visions been disheartening. As far as I can see, no one from our family is hurt. And I'm sure of that. That's what makes me think some other party is involved," Alice answered. We finished picking out our clothes and bought them. We continued our conversation on the way to the next store.

"What do you think happens to the other party?" I asked. _'Oh my. I hope we can help them.'_ But from what I was hearing, it seemed like we wouldn't.

"I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's serious. As things are now, we might or might not be able to help them. I can see both outcomes. I do know that whatever will happen, is going to happen soon. Within a few days," Alice answered. We reached the second store and started browsing.

"Are you sure no one from our family gets hurt?" Rosalie asked, worried.

"I'm sure," Alice reassured us. _'Good. I'd hate it if one of us got hurt. I'm not sure if I could deal with that.'_

"Is there anything we can do to improve the chances of things working out?" I asked. There had to be something we can do.

"Other then preparing ourselves for the worst? Without knowing what will happen, no," Alice informed us. She seemed sad- and frustrated- at not being able to help this situation.

"Alice, don't be hard on yourself. It's not your fault," I comforted her.

"I just hate not knowing exactly what will happen. How can I help, if I don't know what's going to happen?" Alice complained.

"Alice, do you know why you can't see anything? I mean the only time your visions have ever been unclear was when we had that meeting with those dog," Rosalie asked, saying the word dog with disgust.

"This has nothing to do with werewolves, Rosalie. They completely block my visions. Here, I can see something, it's just not clear," Alice assure her.

"Should we tell the rest of the family?" I ask her. How would that affect the visions?

"Edward and Jasper know. They're going to tell the rest of them while we're out. The visions don't change if they know. At least, they haven't so far," Alice explained.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"There's nothing we can do. Except go on with our plans and deal with things as they come," Alice answered. And with that, we dropped the subject. There really was nothing we can do now.

I wondered who we were going to meet. _'Maybe they would complete our family. Maybe it'll be Edward's, Eric's, or Richard's mate. That would be wonderful. Really wonderful. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.'_

So we finished shopping in our second store. After that we walked to the movie theater, just in time to catch our movie. We set down our bags- a mere five- and sat down to enjoy our movie. Alice told us we would love it. I didn't bet against her.

* * *

A couple of hours later, we were leaving the theater and on our way to the beauty salon. That movie was precious. Truly a great love story. This is why you never bet against Alice. You never win.

"So, what color are you going to paint your nails Esme?" Rosalie asked. _'Haven't put much thought into it. Maybe a nice shade of blue.'_

"A light shade of blue I guess," I answered," how about you?"

"Classic red. You Alice?"

"Purple, definitely."

"You really love that color, don't you?" I teased her.

"Of course, it's my favorite," Alice replied.

"Yeah, we know. Emmett especially," Rosalie said, giggling at the end.

"Emmett's never going to forget that," I remarked.

"He should have never made that bet with me. He had to know he was going to lose," Alice defended.

"It's Emmett. He never thinks things through," Rosalie said.

"True," Alice said. We all laughed at the memory. _'Emmett still shudders at the sight of purple.'_

We entered the beauty salon. After a short wait, we were getting our hair and nails done. This was going to take awhile. Good thing we had plenty of topics to talk about.

* * *

"... And he still won't admit I'm right," Alice exclaimed, while we were leaving.

"Edward is too used to being right. He needs to learn not to rely on his gift so much," I commented. The girls nodded, agreeing with me. Alice called for a taxi.

"So, we head back to the hotel, break up the fight, and drop off our bags. After that, we'll ask if anyone wants to come with us, they'll say no, and we'll leave," Alice stated.

"Break up what fight?" I asked.

"Richard and Jasper. From what I see, Richard annoys Jasper, and Jasper attacks him. Carlisle tells them not to break anything. Edward is just watching. Eric and Emmett are betting on who is going to win," Alice informed us.

"Men. Can't we leave them alone for one day without fights breaking out?" I remarked.

"Nope. Impossible. Without us women present, fight are inevitable," Alice sighed. I chuckled at that. _'So true.'_

"Come on, best not keep them waiting." I urged. A taxi finally pulled over and we got in. After sitting down, I stared out the window for a few minutes. It was nearing sunset. We still had about an hour or so until night falls. And an hour and half after that until the fashion show starts. So we were good.

"Alright, so what do we talk about now?" Rosalie asked. I shrugged. I had no idea.

"I don't know. How about we just say whatever comes to our mind?" Alice suggested. We stayed quiet for a few minutes.

"Hey mom, I have a question. Have you and Carlisle ever broken a house?" Rosalie asked. The joy and warmth I normally feel when one of my kids call me mom was overshadowed by embarrassment. If I was human, I' would have been blushing. I nodded my head.

"Really! How many?" Alice asked.

"I'm not answering that," I replied. No way.

"Come on mom," Rosalie said.

"Please," Alice begged. She pouted. I turned my head, and looked out the window, ignoring her. _'I'm not going to answer. I'm not going to answer.' _She was still pouting. _'I'm not going to answer. I'm not going to-'_

"Five," I muttered. They seem amused. I rolled my eyes.

* * *

"And we're here. Come on, let's stop them before they break something," Alice said. We got out of the car and started up the stairs. Our suite was on the third floor.

When we reached the second floor, I was able to pick up on the sounds of arguing. At least it hadn't escalated to physical fighting yet. We reached the door to our suite in time to hear something break. Great. I opened the door.

"Who broke what?" I said, entering the room. Jasper had Richard in a headlock. Emmett, Edward, Eric, and Carlisle were standing around, watching. I spotted a broken vase behind the feuding boys. I gave a point stare at Richard and Jasper, and they separated. Jasper sent me a wave of regret. I ignored it, and went to drop off my bags in my room. While I putting away my things, I could hear Richard and Jasper apologizing.

Still ignoring them- but making sure to send out disappointment and anger- I changed into my outfit for the fashion show. I blocked my thoughts by focusing on my favorite paintings.

When I finished changing, I checked myself in the mirror and left the room. Jasper and Richard were sitting, looking nervous. Waiting for my punishment. I kepy them waiting for a few more minutes. I walked to Rosalie's door.

"Rosalie, do you want any help picking out an outfit?" I said through the door. She answered back no.

"Mom, I'm sorry. But it's all Jasper's fault! I swear!" Richard exclaimed, wasting no time in putting the blame on another person. I stared him down. Didn't say anything.

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't all his fault," He conceded. I nodded.

"What happened?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral. They all started talking at once, and while I could understand them all, I didn't feel like trying.

"Stop!" I shouted. They all shut up. I pointed to Jasper.

"Go," I said.

"I was just talking with Eric on the possibility of another war breaking out, when Richard came in and started asking me if I wanted to help him prank, uh someone. I told him to leave me alone, but he wouldn't. He called me coward. I told him I'll rip off his arm if he doesn't leave. He said I couldn't. I told him to fu- I mean, uh leave. He didn't. Some insults were exchanged. I lost my temper and lunged at him," Jasper said. I pointed at Richard.

"Your side," I said.

"Well, I was just trying to include Jasper in my plans, because you know we don't spend a lot of time together," Richard started. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"When Jasper just started telling me to get out. I didn't even say anything. Then he just started insulting me. So naturally I sent some back. Then he attacked me! I was just trying to be a good brother!" Richard exclaimed. _'Does he actually think I believe that?'_

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" I asedk incredulously. Richard started nodding his head, but changed his mind and shook it.

"Good. Now, Carlisle," I turedn to my husband, "Why didn't you stop them?"

"I felt that they should work things out themselves. That perhaps it would improve their relationship, " Carlisle said. _'You just didn't feel like stopping them.'_

"You three," I said, turning to the last of my family, "what were you doing?" Emmett and Eric looked everywhere but at me. I turned to Edward.

"I just watched. If no one else was going stop them, I wasn't going to. Eric and Emmett bet on who was going to win. Eric put $200 on Jasper, and Emmett put $200 on Richard," my youngest son told me.

"Eric, Emmett, you should be ashamed. Betting on your brothers like that. And Emmett," I said, pointing to him, "Don't be ridiculous. You don't need to be a psychic to know Jasper was going to win."

"Mom!" Richard exclaimed. Jasper started chuckling at the distraught look on his face. I just smiled, and shrugged. _'Hey, it's true.'_

"Okay, now that that's over, we need to go now." Alice announced, entering the room. She gave Jasper a quick kiss.

"Anyone want to come with us?" Cue silence.

"Alright. I guess we'll be leaving," I said, heading for the door.

"Does that mean we're not going to get punished?" I heard Richard whisper.

"No, you're going to be punished. I just need time to think of a good punishment. I told you last time that if I caught the two of you fight again, you'd regret it. Now, you're going to regret it." I said, walking out the door with Alice and Rosalie. We went downstairs and climbed into a taxi. I waited for a few minutes, before asking the question I know they wanted to hear.

"Have any ideas on how I should punish Richard and Jasper?"

* * *

The Fashion show was two hours long, and adding the hour it takes to get back to the hotel, we got back to the hotel at 1 am. The girls have me a lot of good ideas. I decided to take Alice's offer for Jasper's punishment, since he has less blame in this situation. He was provoked, and I can attest to Richard's unbelievable ability to annoy. However, Jasper shouldn't have lost his temper and attacked, but I feel Alice's punishment is more than enough to deal with that.

As for Richard, I felt that their suggestions were a bit... harsh. But considering who I asked, I should have expected it. I'll just have to come up with an idea myself.

So, when we got back to the hotel, we went into our own groups. Alice sat with( well, more like on) Jasper, while he was talking with Eric, drawing and occasionally making a comment. I sat with Carlisle, listening to Edward play. He was playing my favorite song. Richard and Emmett were talking about something. It was background noise, I wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, after a few hours- near sunrise - I guessed Richard got bored. He decided to go hunt, and Carlisle and Jasper joined him. Well, Jasper joined at the insistence of Alice. He couldn't tell that girl no. Most people couldn't.

_'I hope they have a good hunt.'_

**AN: Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:So, this is in Melissa's point of view. Keep in mind, she's a little girl. Young children tend to resent change. They don't like it. I figured since they took a major change in scenery so well, they're do for a tantrum. So, I here it is.**

**Edited: 12/24/12 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Seven**

**Fear and Danger**

**Melissa's POV**

_'I'm scared. What if it gets worse? I don't know what to do! What do I do? I wanna cry! No, no I can't cry. I can't cry. Maybe it isn't that bad. Maybe it'll go away. Where's Adriana! Oh, there she is. Okay, she's okay. What do I do!'_

When I woke up, Isabella was still breathing weird. Really weird! She was breathing through her mouth really really hard, and I can hear it! It was loud! I didn't think that was good. And when she talked, she had to stop to breathe. I didn't like it! I was scared; I didn't know what was happening! I wished it would stop...

She tried getting and walking to go drink water, but while she was walking, she fell. It wasn't like she tripped! She just started wobbling, then she fell. And she was holding her head. When she tried again, she fell again. I helped her walk to one of the brown things, so she could sit against it. We had to stop, because she looked like she was going to fall. Again.

Anyway, so Isabella was siting against a brown thing. She still wanted water. I didn't know how to get her water. I tried holding it in my hands, but it would slip out. I couldn't carry it back.

While all of this was happening, Adriana was eating. Just that. She wasn't smiling, or bouncing, or any of the stuff she normally did. It was weird. I wasn't used to that. I didn't like it! _'Isabella shouldn't be breathing funny and Adriana should be happy! And smiling! And playing! And making me happy! And, and... Don't cry, don't cry. No one else is crying. I just don't like this. It scares me. What do I do?'_

That wasn't even the only thing scaring me. That place was noisy. I wasn't used to noise. When there was light, it was interesting. But when there wasn't, it was scary. I didn't know anything, and I couldn't what was making that noise. And the floor was wet. And not very comfy.

Plus, there was a lot of stuff I had never seen before. At first it was nice. Really nice. I wanted to see everything and play with everything. It was like a game. But then, it started scaring me. I mean, something there was doing something to Isabella. I didn't know what.

Also, some of the living things there were mean and nasty. I met a new one while I was drinking water before Isabella or Adriana woke up. It was mean to me. It bit me.

I was just drinking water and I heard a noise. I was kinda scared, but I wanted to know what it was too. So I shook of my scaredyness, I walked towards it. And I saw this cute little thing! It looked soft and had a lot of hair. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked. There was also this bigger one. I don't think it like me. It made a noise. It was like, 'grrr'. That scared me. So I tried to walk away. I was just going back to my sisters. I walked in front of the living thing and I think it got mad. It bit me! I screamed and pushed it off. Then ran away. That was scary.

But this was scarier! I didn't know what to do. I didn't like it. I wished we had someone to take care of us. But not like THEY did! No! I wanted a nice someone to care take of us. A pretty someone too.

"Wa," breathe, "tar," Isabella said. _'I don't know how to get you water! Stop asking! This isn't fair! I don't know what to do! Don't cry! Don't cry!'_

"Don't know how!" I yelled. _'Stop asking! Just stop it._' Isabella looked surprised. _'Yeah, well. Whatever. Shut up.'_

"Food?" Adriana said quietly. She pointed to the pile of food on the floor. I sat down and started eating. Even though none of us were talking, or making any noise, except for Isabella, it was still noisy. I didn't like it being that noisy. I had a hard time going to sleep the night before. Even when I did fall asleep, I would keep waking up! The noises scared me sometimes.

Adriana didn't seem to mind the noises. She didn't wake up when she went to sleep. At least, I didn't think she did. I could have been wrong. But she didn't ever look scared. Ever. Isabella did sometimes. Sometimes, I was scared of that place. When it was light, I wanted to explore everything. There was so many new things! I wanted to know what everything felt like and how strong it was, and play with everything! But when it was dark, the new things scared me. They could have hurt me!

I kept eating the blue things and none of us said anything. I looked over at Isabella. She was just sitting there, scratching her arm. Her arm was red and her face. And her legs. A lot of her was red. That couldn't be good. I didn't know a lot of things, but I knew that couldn't be good. I wondered why she was like that.

Adriana walked over to Isabella, holding some of the blue things. She dropped them near Isabella. Isabella looked at them, but then she made a face and pushed them away. I guessed she wasn't hungry.

_'What do we do today?'_ Isabella couldn't do anything and I didn't wanna leave her alone. But I was bored. _'Well, Adriana could stay here with her. I hope she's better soon. I gonna try to get her water again. There has to be someway.'_

* * *

_'Stupid water! It won't stay in my hands! It slips out between my fingers. How am I going to move the water?'_

When we were with THEM, THEY brought water in these little cold, gray things that had a hole on the top with a bottom. That could hold water. _'Maybe something here is like that. I'm gonna look for something. There's stuff over there that could work.'_

I picked up this flat, slightly wet hard thing. _'It doesn't have a hole, but it might work.'_ I'm gonna try it. I put it in the water. Then took it out. It didn't hold any water. I threw it away.

_'There has to be something.'_ I kept looking. But nothing I found worked! _'I give up! This is hard. I going back to Isabella and Adriana.'_I started to walk away.

_'Oh wait!'_ I went back and drank some water, then left. I was hungry. _'I hope there's still some blue things left to eat._' I didn't know where to find more food.

When I got back to Isabella, I didn't see Adriana anywhere. _'Where is she? Is she okay!' _I looked around._ 'I can't see her anywhere!' _I couldn't tell where Adriana went.

"Awri! Awri!" I yelled. _'Calm down. She has to be okay. She must have gotten bored and left. That's all. I don't need to worry.' _I took a deep breath.

"Awri!" I yelled again._ 'Where is she? She has to be okay.'_ I started to walk away, to look for her. '_Wait! I should check if Isabella is okay.'_ I looked over at her. She looked like she just woke up. _'Did I wake her up? I think I did.'_ She was still breathing weird. She looked at me and then laid down again and went back to sleep.

_'She's not going to go anywhere, so I can go look for Adriana.'_ And I did.

* * *

_'Where is she?_' I kept calling her name, well part of it, but she wasn't answering back. I was getting scared. I kept looking for her._'Oh, where is she? I can't find her! Calm down. I have to calm down. I need- wait!'_ I saw something red.

_'Yes! I found her.'_ She was climbing a brown thing. She must have just started, because she was near the bottom. _'Why is she climbing a brown thing? It's not like we're playing a game or anything. Well, it is fun to get to the top. You can see a lot from up there.'_

_'Now what to do?'_ I wanted to get back to Isabella; I didn't feel right leaving her alone, even if she was asleep. But I didn't want to leave Adriana alone either. _'What do I do? Well, I could-'_

"Ahh!" Adriana screamed. _'Adriana! She's falling!'_ I ran over to her. She was on the floor. And sh wa's crying. _'Oh, that's not good.'_

"Awri?" _'Where is she hurt?'_ She was holding her arm, so I guessed there. I tried to touch her arm, but she screamed when I did. Her arm looked bent, and that really couldn't have been good. I grabbed her other arm and pulled her up. I walked back with her to Isabella.

Isabella was still sleeping. Adriana was siting next to her. Adriana was still crying. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Adriana just kept crying. _'That really has to hurt.' _She was making a lot of noise. I didn't like; I wanted her to stop.

_'What do I- what was that!'_ I looked around. I heard foot steps. Heavy footstep, like THEM. Did THEY find us? _'I really hope not!'_Adriana was still crying and I tried to get her to be quiet. She wouldn't calm down, so I covered her mouth. The footsteps were getting louder!

I kept looking around, trying to find out where they were coming from. Adriana finally calmed down, or at least quieted down. She looked scared. I pointed to the brown thing and lightly pushed her. She got the idea. She went and hid behind it. I looked at Isabella. She was still asleep. I knew I didn't have time to hide her, so I sat in front of her.

The footsteps slowed down. I knew what that meant. They were here, whoever they were. I still couldn't see them and that scared me. I really hoped they would just leave us alone. But for some reason, I doubted that would happen. So I took a deep breath and pushed all my fear into a corner where I couldn't feel it.

After a few minutes, they showed themselves. It wasn't THEM, so at least that was good. I couldn't have felt as brave if it was THEM. But even through it was THEM, I still didn't like these people; they scared me.

There was two of them. A guy and a girl. The guy had light skin and brown hair. But not like Isabella's; it was lighter. He scared me the most. He just looked mean. He looked like he wanted to eat me. I swallowed my fear.

The girl didn't look much nicer. She had orange hair. It kinda reminded me of Adriana's, but not as red. It was curly. She was staring. She didn't scare me as much as the guy, but nothing short of THEM could have scared me as much as him.

They had red eyes, like THEM. Red eyes weren't be good. So, they weren't good. They were going to hurt us.

"What do we have here?" the guy asked. He was smiling. I didn't like it. Isabella was still sleeping behind me. I wished I was her at that moment.

"I don't know. They don't smell human. But they also don't smell like vampires." The girl said. They were still looking at us. Just looking. I relaxed a little.

"Interesting. How do you think they'll taste?" The guy said. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I could read body language. He was going to pounce. I tensed up.

"Only one way to find out," the girl said. He started getting closer.

"Hey there little one. Don't worry, this won't hurt at all," he said. All I understood was the word hurt and the fact that he was getting closer.

I was between him and my sister, so he would reach me first. I stood up. He wasn't going to get near my sisters. Not Isabella and not Adriana. Whatever I had to do to protect my sisters, I was going to do it. I briefly thought about running, but threw the idea away. My sisters couldn't run, so I couldn't.

He tried to grab me. I screamed and bit him. Hard. As hard as I could, which was pretty hard. _'You are not going to hurt me!'_ He grabbed me with his other hand, but I struggled. I let go of his arm and manged to wiggle out of his grip. When I did, I fell to the floor. I landed on my back and wasted no time kicking the back of his legs, knocking him over. I heard the girl laughing, but ignored her. He was getting back up. I quickly got onto my feet.

He looked really mad now. He moved- toward Isabella! _'Coward!' _I got in the way and pushed him. I fell to the floor, so I bit his leg. I bit through the thing it was covering it. He tried to get me off, but I just bit harder. He finally manged to throw me off. I swear, that girl was laughing harder now. She was distracting me.

He grabbed my arm and twisted it. I screamed. Loud. I tried to push him away, but I couldn't. He lifted me by the front of the thing I was wearing. I bit his hand, which was all I could reach. He moved me to his other arm and again tried to get me to let go. When I did, his grip lighten up enough for me to break free. I backed up. We moved away from my sisters.

"James, someone's coming. We should leave," the girl said. She stopped laughing and sounded scared now. He still looked angry. I didn't take my eyes of him for a second.

"Not without a taste," he said. It was low and angry. I didn't like it.

"We don't have time. We need to leave now. We're in danger; we need to leave now! You can try again later," she said, really fast. She looked really scared now.

The he looks at her, then at me, then back at her. He turned and ran, with the girl following him. They were gone in a few seconds. _'Why? Why would they leave? Why did she seem scared?' _I was glad they were gone, but I didn't understand why they left.

I realized why they left when my heart stopped pounding. Some else was coming. I could hear Adriana coming out of her hiding place, but didn't have time to tell her to go back. These people were very close.

The new people didn't try to hide, which threw me off. They... They didn't look scary. Or threatening. That much. I was still scared; I didn't know them. They could be bad. But they didn't scare me as much as I thought they would. They kinda looked nice. And friendly.

Especially one of the yellow-haired ones. He's the second tallest, had kinda long hair. He was bigger then the others. He looked really nice. Not scary at all. I was still scared, not everything was as harmless as it looked. But I was only cautiously scared.

The other yellow-haired one looked scarier. His hair was shorter and he had bite marks everywhere. He was a fighter, I could tell. And by the looks of it, he's never lost. That scared me. He was the tallest one too. Didn't help.

The last one had black hair. He was the shortest one and the smallest. His hair was a little longer then the others. He looked pretty nice. I relaxed a little, just a little.

I didn't know exactly why they looked nice to me. Maybe- probably - because they didn't have red eyes. They had yellow. But not yellow like yellow hair. A different kind of yellow. I liked it. It was a nice color. It was also weird.

'_I think the nice yellow-haired one is about to talk.'_

**Author's Note: Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: 2****/18/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd-numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even-numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Eight**

**Near Misses and a Direct Hit**

**Carlisle's POV**

"So, what do you think is going to happen?" Richard said, out of the blue. I just finished off my last deer. I though about my answer as I wiped my face.

"About Alice's vision? No idea. It could be anything. She only has the vaguest ideas," Jasper answered.

Unfortunately, he was right. Alice's visions left so many details out that trying to figure out what was going to happen was impossible. Of course, that wasn't the worst part in my opinion. The worst part was the possibility of not being able to help them.

I became a doctor out of a need to help others, in ways that only I can. Having heightened senses and perfect memory helps me in diagnosing my patients. And being a doctor, I had encountered death more times then I liked. No matter how many times it happens, you can never truly become used to it.

Knowing it might happen again, and that we might not be able to stop it, wasn't a comforting thought. In fact, I believed that the possibility saddened most of us. There was nothing we can do, but wait and keep our eyes and ears open.

"Shouldn't we be heading back now? It's pretty late in the morning now," Jasper said, interrupting my thoughts.

"You just want to get back to Alice. What's wrong, is she pulling on your leash?" Richard teased. Jasper just scoffed.

"At least I have a girl. All you have is a movie projector," Jasper replied. I saw Richard clench his hands.

"Hey! Take that back," Richard shouted. I rolled my eyes. Not again...

"Why should I? It's true," Jasper retorted. I didn't need to be an empathic to sense the rising anger in Richard. Those two...

"Shut up!" Richard snapped. I realized that I should intervene, before it got worse. However, I had come to find out that letting them fight it out every once in a while really helped them get along better. At least until the next fight. And, better here then in the hotel.

"Why should I, when you haven't since the day I met you," Jasper growled. I was amazed at the little things that set them off. But this had been a long time coming.

"Yeah, well-" Richard started saying, before cutting himself off. A look of confusion covered his face.

"Did you hear that?" he asked. Jasper and I looked at each other, with matching looks of confusion.

"Hear what?" I inquired. I strained my ears, wondering what he heard. I heard nothing out of the ordinary.

"That noise. It sounded like someone screaming," Richard answered. I shook my head. I didn't hear anything.

"I didn't hear anything. Are you sure?" I replied._ 'Perhaps he just mistook some animal's cry as a scream.'_

"I'm sure. It sounded like a girl. Maybe we should check it out," Richard suggested.

"You're absolutely sure?" Jasper asked. Richard nodded.

"I guess we can look around. It's probably just some hiker who fell," I concluded. Jasper nodded. After Richard informed us of the direction of the scream, we headed in that direction. A sinking feeling developed in my stomach.

* * *

"Richard, we haven't found anything. Maybe we should just go back to the hotel," Jasper suggested.

We hadn't been looking that long, about half an hour or so. However, despite the area we've covered, we haven't found any indication of someone being here. I was starting to think Richard just mistook some noise as a scream.

"I know what I heard. I think we should keep looking," Richard insisted. The two looked at me; it seemed I was the deciding vote. We covered a lot of ground, and hadn't seen anything. I shook my head.

"Richard, we haven't found anything. If you really heard a scream, whoever screamed had to have left by now. We should go back," I stated. Richard's face fell at that. Jasper cringed, I was guessing at the emotions Richard was giving off.

"I just... Can't we look a little longer. Something doesn't feel right with leaving now," Richard said. He was begging with his eyes. I sighed. _'I shouldn't. I really shouldn't. But...'_

"Fine. A few more minutes of searching," I said, giving in. It meant a lot to him. At this point, I was convinced that there was nothing left in the forest. That it was just an animal or hiker that left. I din't think we would find anything.

"Yes!" Richard exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and continued to look and listen for any sign of someone being here. After a few minutes, I considered telling them to go back. At the last second, I changed my mind and decided to give Richard a few more minutes. Moments later, I heard a sound that stopped me cold.

A little girl screaming her lungs out.

* * *

The sight I saw invoked two very powerful emotions, deep-seeded worry and utter shock. How could I begin to describe it?

There were three little girls in front of me. They couldn't have been more than about two or three years old. Dirt and other filth clung to their clothes and bodies, evidence that they had never had a proper bath. Plain, solid colored dresses that were beyond faded, nearly ripped apart and practically falling apart gave them minimum protection from the environment.

All three girls were on the skinny side, thankfully no ribs showing, and very, very pale. It was at that time I noticed something that had slipped under my notice in the aftermath of my shock. A strange, unfamiliar smell- slightly sweet like that of human blood, with a distinct hint of bitter venom... As if it was a combination of human and vampire...

But that is where the similarities end between the three of them. One of the little girls, a brown hair child, was in the middle of a severe allergic reaction it appeared. Red inflamed skin covered her arms, which had (unbleeding) scratches. Shallow, but steadily improving breathing echoed in the small space. She was sleeping, unaware of the world around her. She wore blue, although you could barely tell the color. Her hair reached just past her shoulders. All aforementioned things aside, she was fine.

Another girl, this one with dark red hair and dark green eyes, had oblivious tear trails running down her face. Her arm was bent at an unnatural angle, broken. The break was relatively new. _'Perhaps she was the one that screamed earlier. Hard to imagine her not making some noise when it broke. ' _Aside from the arm, she seemed fine. Her curly hair reached about mid-back. A soft pink covered her.

The last girl (who had the scent of a strange vampire clinging to her) was the healthiest of the three. If smells were anything to go by (and that was all I had to go on), it seemed three strange vampire came, and she fought one. Not without some repercussion, since she was holding her right shoulder. Her eyes bore into me, icy with a stare of distrust. So young, yet her eyes held strength.

Her hair was black, with the faintest blue undertones. It flowed straight hair down to her waist, odd because of her age. It shouldn't have had a chance to reach that length. That, coupled with her smell and presence, told me that there was a lot more to this then I knew. She wore a very faded green scrap of cloth.

The brown hair girl was laying in front of a tree with the redhead sitting next to her. The redhead looked absolutely frightened. The black-haired girl was standing a bit away from them, holding a defensive stance with tensed arms. While looking calmer than the redhead, she still held a look of fear. It was obvious that if I wanted to reach the brunette and redhead to help them, I had to get her to trust me. _'Good thing Jasper's here.'_

I raised my hands in an attempt to show my harmlessness. Slowly, I approached the girls. The blue-eyed girl took a step back, still frightened, but not backing down.

"Hello there, honey. What are you doing here?" I asked quietly. I tried my best to make my tone soothing. She relaxed just a bit.

"Keep going Carlisle; you're calming her down. I'm helping the best I can, but I'm not sure how much of it is actually getting through," Jasper whispered. _'Good.'_ I stepped closer to the girls.

"No answer? Well, what's your name?" I asked, honestly wanting to know. The poor girl didn't seem to understand me, which threw me off. _'Perhaps I'm speaking the wrong language for her.'_ She seemed confused.

"Name?" she said, confusing coloring her words. In her confusion, she forgot to be as wary. I continued to approach her, nodding my head.

"Your name, honey. What are you called? I'm Carlisle," I continued, keeping my tone quiet and soft. It was working, because she was relaxing. I stepped closer to her. She still seemed confused, but it was lessening now.

"Me-lis-sa," she said, taking her time to pronounce it. _'Melissa. That's a pretty name.'_

"Hello, Melissa," I said as I finally reached her. She was still a bit scared, so I didn't touch her. Instead, I knelled so I was at eye level with her. I pointed to the redhead.

"What's her name?" I asked, partly because I wanted to know, partly to distract her. Melissa looked over to her. Then back at me. Then back at her. I believed that she was trying to decide whether to answer.

"Adwi-ana," she said, replacing what I guessed was a 'r' with a 'w'. I hoped Adriana will trust me to help her later.

"Hello, Adriana," I said, looking her in the eyes. She seemed calmer now. I smiled (careful to not show my teeth) to further relax her. Thankfully, it worked. I pointed to the sleeping girl.

"What's her name?" I, once again, asked Melissa. She looked at the brunette before answering.

"I-sa-bel-la" She says, once again taking her time. Well, Isabella's breathing rate improved more, so she was coming back fine._ 'Now, these girls can't stay here. But how to get them to follow us?'_ I spotted a few stray blueberries on the floor, probably what caused Isabella's allergic reaction. I wondered how long it had been since they had eaten.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. Melissa's response was confusion. She didn't understand what I was saying.

"Do you want food?" I said, trying a different phrasing. At that, her eyes lit up. She understood me now. And she was hungry. And English was the right language, although we were in France and logic dictated that they would speak French. Considering their age, I doubted they knew two languages. This was weird.

"If you come with us, we can get you food," I said, using my hands to convey my message. Melissa tensed up, for a second, before calming down. She looked at me carefully, before sparing a glance to Jasper and Richard. It was a few silent moments before she looked at Adriana, who nodded her head slightly after much hesitation. That made up her mind. Melissa looked at me and nodded, before walking over to Isabella, and shook her. Isabella sluggishly propped up on one arm and opened her eyes.

When she saw me, she froze. Fear swept over her face. Before I could try calming her down, Melissa placed her hand on Isabella's shoulder. As Isabella turned to her, Melissa smiled. Isabella looked confused, and looked at Melissa and me many times. She was wary. Finally, Melissa pulled on her wrist, helping her stand.

Isabella stood up, keeping wary eyes on me. I stood up, offering my hand to Adriana to help her. I waved the boys over.

"Approach slowly, we don't want to startle them," I said to Jasper and Richard. They nodded and walked over. Isabella continued to stand next to Melissa, with Melissa holding her hand. Adriana moved to hide behind them, fear seeping back into her face.

As the boys got closer, her apprehension seemed to increase. Melissa turned to face her. I motioned for the boys to stop. She needed more time. Her anxiety seemed to increase, despite Melissa's attempts at calming her down. Adriana's eyes continued to change from Melissa to Jasper and Richard. I wondered if she could see Jasper's scars.

Seemingly out of nowhere(internally, her emotions must have built up), Adriana turned and ran. Fast. Faster than any human could ever go, solidifying my theory that there was much more under the surface. All that was left was to narrow down what they were and how to deal with them. Isabella looked like she was going to follow her. But Melissa stopped her.

"Stay," she said, before going after Adriana, calling her name. Well, half of it. I wasn't sure what to do. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to stop Melissa, who was probably still wary, or to leave Isabella alone.

"What do we do?" Richard asked. I looked at him.

"Richard, follow the girls, but don't let them see you. Jasper stay here and help me keep Isabella calm," I ordered. Richard nodded and ran off to follow them. Jasper took a few more step toward Isabella, before sitting on the floor.

"Hi, Isabella," he said using a quiet voice. Isabella was looking at him, a bit blankly. She didn't seem comfortable, nor scared. Just observant.

"Why are you here? Do you know?" Jasper asked. Isabella cocked her head, thinking for a few seconds. We patiently waited.

"Here?" Isabella asked, pointing to the ground. Jasper nodded his head.

"Run," she said finally. Her vocabulary wasn't very extensive. _'She and the others ran here from wherever they lived before. I wonder why.'_

"Carlisle, do think she means they ran away? We're pretty far away civilization; why would they run this far?" Jasper asked. I shrugged, not wanting to think deeply about the obvious answers to that question.

"My best guess is that they were running away from something or someone," I told him. At that, Jasper tensed up. I didn't blame him; the idea of someone hurting a child was despicable and unwarranted.

"So, what's the plan when they get back? I can't see those two allowing a stranger to carry them," Jasper asked. Isabella took a few steps toward him.

"Well, the only one who needs to be carried is her," I said, pointing to Isabella, "with her shallow breathing, she won't be able to run. The other two could run with us."

"They're pretty fast. Not as fast as a vampire, but close. Very close. What do you think they are?" Jasper asked. Isabella stopped right in front of him, looking at his arms. She could see his scars, no doubt. It didn't seem to scare her.

"The first one that comes to mind is a sort of hybrid between human and vampire. It fits the best too," I answered. Isabella sat down next to Jasper, tracing his scars. She was very curious.

"Is that even possible?" he asked. I looked at Isabella.

"Apparently," I answered. Isabella continued to trace the scars.

"What?" She asked, pointing to one of the scars. She looked up at Jasper expectantly.

"They're scars," Jasper answered. She nodded her head, looking back down.

"Scar," she repeated. She removed her hand and lifted the bottom of her dress. She pointed to a long scar running down her left leg. It looked very faded; it was an old scar.

"Scar?" she asked. Jasper nodded her head. She smoothed down her dress. I guessed she was satisfied at knowing what it was.

"So, how do you think everyone will react when they see them," Jasper asked, a small smile on his face.

"Other than shock? Who knows," I replied.

"This is probably what Alice saw. Or didn't see. If we were any farther away..." Jasper trailed off. I saw his point. I wasn't sure how these girls survived the few moments they had with three vampires, but I doubted they would have lasted longer.

"She'll be happy to see things worked out. Now, we have to get them to the hotel. These girls all need a bath, Adriana needs a cast, and they're hungry," I commented. Isabella's breathing improved, although it was still very shallow.

"They also need diapers, at least until they're toilet trained," Jasper mentioned. I nodded my head.

"This is going to be an interesting few day," I commented. Jasper laughed. Our conversation bored Isabella, who walked away in the direction the other two ran. I guessed she was looking for them.

"Jasper, what happened with Adriana? She seemed fine," I asked.

"It's strange Carlisle. At first, they reacted well to the emotions I was projecting. But, when Richard I tried to approach, it was blocked. It wasn't quite reaching them. Without my help, Adriana's fear just increased. So did Melissa's, but hers was more controlled," Jasper explained. _'Odd. Perhaps one of them have the power to block other gifts.'_

"Do you think one of them has a gift?" I asked. Jasper nodded.

"It makes sense," he answered. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then heard footstep. A set of heavier ones that were closer, Richard, and light, quicker ones that were farther away, the girls. Richard came into view and slowed down.

"The girls are on they're way back. Adriana calmed down a bit. Those girls can run, they didn't stop until Melissa caught up with Adriana. Even then, they didn't look tired." Richard informed us. They had high stamina, which was good. They're going to need it if they were going to run with us.

"Good. Chances are those girl aren't going to let us carry them, so they're going to need to run," I said. Richard nodded, before turning to Isabella.

"Hey there Isabella, I'm Richard," Richard said. Isabella looked at him, and cocked her head. She pointed at him.

"Wi-wi-shawd," she said, stopping and mispronouncing his name. Her face scrunched up. She dropped her hand.

"Wichawd," she tries again. Better. She looked at Richard.

"Close enough," he said, smiling. Melissa and Adriana came into view. Melissa was holding Adriana's hand, with her slightly behind Melissa. Which was a bit of a weird sight since Melissa was shorter that Adriana.

The two walked to us. Isabella walked over to them. Melissa smiled at us, while Adriana still looked a bit scared. Melissa looked her before turning back to us.

"Are you hungry? Do you want food?" I asked, needing to give them a reason to follow us.

"Yes," Melissa said, nodding her head. Jasper stood up. I give her my left hand to take. She looked at it, then up at my face.

"Follow us," I said, using my hands, "okay?" _'I hope they understood me.'_ Melissa looked confused, and so did Adriana and Isabella.

"Shase?" Adriana asked. I smiled; I guessed chase and follow were close enough.

"Yes," I said, nodding my head. The confusion left their faces. Melissa looked at my hand, before cautiously taking it. I turned to face Isabella.

"Can you run?" I asked, knowing the answer. I wondered if she knew. She shook her head, therefore aware of her own limitations.

"Do you want to be carried?" I asked. Slight confusion shadowed her face.

"Cawy?" she asked. I nodded my head. She looked up at all three of us.

"Who?" she asked. I looked at Richard and Jasper.

"Who wants to carry her?" I asked.

"I'll do it, she seemed comfortable with me," Jasper said. I nodded my head. Jasper leaned down and grabbed Isabella at the sides, taking his time so she was not caught off-guard. He lifted her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. When he finished positioning her, I tugged on Melissa's hand and started walking in the direction of the hotel. They followed behind easily.

* * *

It didn't take that long to reach the hotel again. Melissa and Adriana were pretty fast and didn't slow down at all. After the first few miles, Adriana, and then Melissa, let go and ran on their own. They continued to follow us. Adriana seemed to have warmed up to us.

At some point, Isabella fell asleep again. When we reached the back of the hotel, we stopped. We could get up to the room without seeing any one, but the girls might not be okay with meeting six new vampires at once. At least some of them have to leave, to avoid scaring the girls.

"Richard, go up to the hotel room and tell the family about the girls. Tell Esme that one of them has a broken arm, and to see if the nurse station downstairs has plaster to make a cast. Tell them that some of them need to leave, at least until the girls are asleep or more comfortable. In fact, tell them to go shopping for the girls, clothes, food, and such. We're going to need it," I told him. _'It'll kill two birds with one stone.'_

Richard went to tell them. Meanwhile, I checked the two conscious girls for any signs of fright or blood-lust. They were part vampire, so I wasn't going to rule that out. But they seemed fine. Curious actually. Adriana was exploring around the empty back patio, never venturing too far. Melissa was just staying put, looking around.

After a few minutes, Richard returned.

"They didn't believe me! At least not until Edward and Alice backed me up. Esme and Rosalie stayed, the rest left. Esme went down to check the nurses station, so only Rosalie is in the hotel room," Richard informed us. Jasper started going in, and I called the Melissa and Adriana to follow me.

When we got to the stairs, I grabbed Adriana's and Melissa's hands. They did well going up the stairs, but still. It was usually a good idea to help young children up and down stairs. At the top, they stopped to look at the pictures on the wall of the hallway. Jasper was already in the room, setting down a now awake Isabella, when we got there.

"Where's Rosalie?" I asked, letting the girls go and closing the door. The second I let them go, they started exploring the room.

"In here!" Rosalie said from the kitchen. The girls heard the sound, and turned toward the door of the kitchen. Adriana looked at me, but I didn't respond. Adriana looked at the other two, before moving toward the door. She poked her head in.

Few moments later, she rejoined her sister, and continued exploring. I went to the kitchen to talked to Rosalie. She was cutting up some of the food the hotel gave us for free. Good thing we didn't throw it away yet.

"The redhead, that's Adriana, right?" Rosalie asked. I nodded my head.

"They need a bath," she said bluntly. I nodded again. I could hear Richard say 'understatement'.

"After they eat, you and Esme should clean them up. The cast should wait until after," I said. Rosalie put the cut up fruit into bowls.

"Are there any blueberries in that? I think Isabella is allergic to them," I said, noticing that Isabella's breathing has almost returned to normal.

"No. Just apples and bananas," Rosalie assured me. I grabbed one of the bowls, and went back to the living room, with Rosalie following me. Isabella was sitting, playing with the candles on the coffee table. Melissa and Adriana were playing with the keys on the piano. They shriek every time it made a noise.

"Melissa, Adriana. Look here, food," I said getting their attention. I walk over to Isabella, and set the bowl on the coffee table. Melissa hesitantly left the piano. Adriana continued to play. Rosalie went to get her.

"Don't. When she's hungry, she'll eat," I said. _'Let her keep playing for now.'_ Rosalie gave Melissa her bowl, and set the third one down.

"Hello Melissa. I'm Rosalie," she said. Melissa took a bite of an apple slice and looked up. She swallowed before speaking.

"Wo-sa-lie" she repeated. She went back to eating. Rosalie sat on the couch and watched them eat.

"They're so cute," she remarked. I could hear someone coming up the stairs. Esme.

* * *

After the girls finished eating, and met Esme, she and Rosalie started started cleaning up the girls. They started with Adriana, since she still needed a cast. That girl was tough, the only time she registered any pain was when Rosalie directly touched the break and when I reset the broken, so it could heal right.

Right now she was picking at the cast and eating, wearing one of Alice's light pink shirts. She made a mess in the bathroom, splashing Esme and Rosalie. Isabella was a very compliant child. She didn't splash or make a fuss. She picked out a purple shirt. Melissa tried to avoid getting a bath. She ended up hiding under Jasper's bed. Richard was the one that got her out. She was wearing a red shirt.

Richard and Jasper were doing a good job keeping her and Isabella occupied. They basically started a game, where Jasper would hide something, Richard kept the girls from seeing anything, and the girls looked for it. They were having a lot of fun searching.

Some of the family returned, namely Eric and Emmett. Eric had brought back food, while Emmett had toys. The girls, however, were more interested in playing the game, then playing with dolls. So Emmett joined them. The girls reacted well to them.

I had to wait until all the family gets here to begin to speak about what we're going to do. _'For now, I think I'll watch my family play_._'_

"Okay. Who wants to hide the watch?" Jasper asked. Adriana decided to join the others.

"Me!" Isabella exclaimed. Jasper gave Isabella the watch with a smile on his face.

"Okay, now turn around," Emmett said, making sure that no one is looking. Isabella ran around the room, looking for somewhere to hide the watch. Finally, she went into the kitchen. Jasper followed her, to make sure she didn't get hurt, or break anything. A few moments later, she came out empty-handed.

"Okay! Now girls, go look," Emmett said. Adriana started looking everywhere, running across the room multiple times. Melissa slowly walked around, looking closely. While Adriana was looking under the sofa, Melissa walked into the kitchen. Emmett followed Melissa, while Richard stayed with Adriana.

"Okay, they're not there Adri. Why don't we look somewhere else? Say the kitchen or a bed room," Richard suggest, mumbling the last part.

"Richard, no helping. Let her find it on her own," Esme reprimanded. Richard rolled his eyes. Melissa came out of the kitchen with no watch. Emmett was about to say something.

"No helping!" Richard yelled. Rosalie and Esme shushed him for what was the fifteenth time.

"Indoor voice," Isabella said, looking at Rosalie smiling. She was sitting next to her, on the loveseat. Rosalie looked surprised, much like the rest of us.

"Cool! We taught her a new phrase," Richard exclaimed. Adriana walked into the kitchen, while Melissa went into one of the bedrooms.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but she probably doesn't know what that means. She just picked up on the fact that someone says it after shushing you or Emmett," Eric pointed out. Richard glared at him, until a loud crash was heard from the kitchen. He ran in there.

"She's okay! But she broke a plate," Richard said from the kitchen. A few moments later, you can hear a squeal.

"Yes! She found it!" Richard announced, coming back into the living room. Melissa came out of the bedroom. Adriana entered the room holding the watch.

"Okay, who wants to hide it next?" Emmett asked. This time the answer came from Adriana.

* * *

The girls played well past sunset. It wasn't until about 10 o'clock that Melissa gave the universal signs of sleepiness. Eric picked her up and place her in the my room. The rest of them continued to play. Alice and Edward arrived just when Isabella was walking into my room, yawning. Rosalie was the one to put her to sleep this time.

Alice was holding bags filled with various things, such as clothes, shoes, diapers, socks, and other toys. In fact, she had about nine bags from different stores. Edward was carrying three more bags.

"Sorry we're here so late, but I had to go all over Paris to get quality things for the girls," Alice said, dropping the bags near the entrance of her room.

"It's fine, Alice," I assured her. Adriana was still playing, despite the entrance of two strangers.

"Shouldn't she be tired by now?" Emmett asked. I shrugged.

"She's too excited. Just let her tire herself out," I answered.

"Plus, they're part vampire. Sleep can't be that necessary to them," Eric added. I nodded at that comment.

"That's odd," Edward mumbled. I turned to him in curiosity. I assumed he was speaking about something about their thoughts.

"What's odd?" I asked. Edward was focusing on Adriana.

"I can't read her mind. Nothing, I'm getting nothing from her," Edward said. That was surprising. First Alice, then Jasper, and now Edward. How were these girls blocking them?

"What about the sleeping ones? Can you hear anything from them?" Emmett asked, taking his turn at hiding the watch.

"No. Not even a whisper," Edward informed us. Even in their sleep, they could protect themselves.

"I like these girls more and more every minute," Richard stated. _'I think most of us do.'_

"Yay!" Adriana cried out, when she found the watch in Alice's room. She walked back into the room. When she handed the watch to Emmett to hide, she yawned and rubbed her eyes. She was finally getting tired. Esme walked her into the room the other two were sleeping in. Alice followed holding a bag that I guess had diapers in it.

"So, what do we do now?" Edward asked.

**Author's note: So, what did you think? Like it? Love it? You were expecting better? Please review. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Edited: 12/26/12 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Nine**

**Adjustment**

**Adriana's POV**

I was in a... dark space. It wasn't room. I couldn't see anything. I was alone too. I didn't know where my sisters went. I was scared. I was surrounded by something. I tried to get rid of it, but it wouldn't go away! I tried harder and it turned into, into... an I don't know what! But it tried to eat me!

I got away from it and I ran into another room. This one looked like the room I was playing in. But it was empty. And it was bigger. And quiet. I didn't like it. I looked around. Something was here. Something was here. I heard breathing behind me. _'Should I turn around? I'm going to.'_

I turned around and behind me was this thing. It looked like the thing that held the weird smelling stuff, but eviler. It had a mouth and giant teeth and red eyes. It was scary. I was going to pee myself. I screamed and ran away. _'Go away monster! You're not welcomed here!'_

"Ah!" I shouted, waking up. I was breathing really fast and shallow. _'That was scary.'_ I looked around for that thing. It was gone. _'Where did it go?' _I was confused.

"Adriana?" a really soft voice asked. I turned to it. It was that brown-haired lady. She looked nice; I liked her. She walked to me.

"Did you have a bad dream?" She said. She sat next to me and rubbed my back. She was asking something, I was sure. But I didn't understand what. _'What's a 'dream'?'_ I didn't say anything.

"It's okay. It's not real," she said. I still didn't know what she was saying, but I liked her voice. It was pretty and it made me feel safe. I yawned. I was getting sleepy again. She kept rubbing my back. I closed my eyes. _'I'm going back to sleep.'_

* * *

When I woke up again, I was alone. I rubbed my eyes and tried to wake up more. _'Where are my sisters?'_ I sat up. I saw that white thing they put on my arm. I didn't like it.

"Hey sleepyhead. About time you get up," the yellow-haired lady says. She was pretty too. I tried to get this very warm and soft thing off me. My feet got tangled, so she helped me. Then she picked me up and set me down on the floor. I needed to pee.

"Come on. Let's get you to the bathroom," the lady said. She took me somewhere. _'What's her name again? I heard it yesterday, I'm sure. What is it?' _The lady sat me on the white thing that has a hole. _'I think I'm supposed to pee here... What is her name? Why can't I remember!'_

'_Rosalie!'_ That was her name. I knew I'd remember it. I just knew it. Rosalie took me off the white thing. I wonder what that was called. She wiped me and then pulled up this thing that was around my feet. I forgot it was there. They put it on me last night, before I went to sleep.

"There you go. Come on, it's time to eat," Rosalie said and then she took my hand. She took me to the room I was playing in yesterday. Isabella was there eating. Well, the brown-haired lady was feeding her. Melissa was playing with something. I wondered what she was playing with.

"You sit here, and I'll get you food," she pointed to the floor. I sat. There was a brown thing in front of me. _'I think it's called a table. Melissa told me that.'_ I looked at the brown-haired lady. She said 'hi'. I didn't know what that means, but they say it a lot. _'Do they think that's my name? Cause it's not, it's Adriana._ _Oh, Rosalie came back.'_

"Here you go." She put something down on the table. It had food. There were these round brown things, with fluffy white stuff on it. And brown lines on it. There was also two light brown square things with purple stuff. And those red things we found outside! But they looked different. _'I hope they taste the same._' I tried to grab one of those round brown things with my hand. The one that didn't have that white thing on it.

"Wait. You don't eat those with your hand," Rosalie said, stopping me, "here let me." She stuck this sliver thing with four points and used another sliver thing to cut it. She used the sliver thing to move a piece of the brown thing to me.

"Open," she said. _'I think that means open.'_ I opened my mouth and she stuck it in my mouth. I closed my mouth and pulled it off the sliver thing. _'Wow!'_ The brown thing was good. It was sweet. I liked it. I wanted more. I smiled and waited for Rosalie to get me more. _'Hurry up!'_

I ate the rest of the brown things quickly. When they were gone, I frowned. I wanted more. Rosalie shook her head and gave me one of the square things. She let me grab it, so I guessed I could eat it on my own. She called it toast. It was okay.

While I was eating, I tried to get that white thing off my arm. I couldn't get it off. It wouldn't go away! I didn't like it! My arm was itchy and it wouldn't let me scratch. I put the toast down and chewed on it. _'Maybe I can bite it off.'_ Rosalie stopped me and gave me my toast back. _'I guess I'm not supposed to do that.' _

Isabella finished eating already. She went to play with Melissa. I wanted to play. I didn't finish eating, but I wanted to play. _'I'm gonna play!' _I got up to go play. Rosalie stopped me and she wiped my hands. She got rid of the purple stuff. It was sticky. Then she let me go play.

So Melissa and Isabella were with the big guy. Really dark brown hair,I thought it was black, but wasn't, and gold eyes like the rest of them. _'Is that weird? They all have gold eyes. I wonder what that means.' _Anyway, he was really tall. I mean really tall. _'What's his name?_'

"Hey Adri. You want to play?" the big guy said. _'What's his name? We were playing yesterday. I'll remember it.'_ He's holding this round thing. He was throwing it up and catching it. I wondered if I could do that.

"Okay, this is what you do. I'll throw the ball and you catch it," he said, still throwing and catching that thing. He threw it at Isabella. She tried to catch it but she didn't. So I got it.

"Now throw it back," he said. _'I think he wants me to throw it back. I don't wanna. I wonder what will happen if I threw it on the floor._' I threw it really hard to the floor and it came back up! Melissa tried to get it, but Isabella got it first. The guy said something again. I wasn't listening. Neither was Melissa or Isabella.

Isabella threw it to me and I almost caught it! But I didn't. So I picked it up from the floor and threw it to Melissa. She didn't catch it either. She threw it back. I didn't catch it and Isabella took it from me. _'Meany!'_

I tried to take it from her, but she wouldn't give it to me. That was mine! I tried again to get it, but she threw it to Melissa before I could.

"Hey! What about me?" the big guy said. _'Emmett! That's his name. Why is he interrupting us? We're playing here.' _Melissa threw the thing at his head. I laughed. He looked mad. He went to get the thing, but I ran and got it first. I threw it on the floor and watched it bounce off the floor. We all tried to get it again. Melissa got it and ran away with it.

She ran behind the light blue thing that the brown-haired lady was sitting on. I followed her, while Isabella stayed behind. When I got to Melissa, she ran away. I was still chasing her. When she ran past Isabella, she gave her the thing. Melissa thought I wouldn't see, but I did.

I went after Isabella. _'I want that thing! Whatever it is!'_ Isabella ran around the room, with me following her. It was fun, especially when other people came in and we had to run around them. I couldn't catch up to her. But I was going to keep trying!

Isabella fell and dropped the thing. I picked it up and ran away with it. _'You're not going to get back from me. It's mine! Mine!'_ I ran away with it. Melissa tried to get it back, but I was too fast. But then I fell. And she picked it up. _'I'm gonna get it back.'_

* * *

I thought I liked her. The tiny black-haired lady. She was short, she was cute like me, she was happy like me, and she put me in this really cute red and white 'dress'. I loved it! But now I saw that I was wrong. I didn't like her. She wouldn't let me play!

We were just playing. Me, Melissa, and Isabella. But then they stopped us. The sorta red/brown( I didn't know what that color was) haired one (_'his name was Edward, I think'_); Esme; and the tiny black-haired lady(_'_ _Alice, right? Yeah.'_)

I didn't even know why! Maybe they were mad that we broke stuff. I didn't mean to knock that stuff over. I didn't! Or to make that hole in the wall. I couldn't stop fast enough! I didn't mean to run into it...

Or maybe they're mad that I made a mess. They gave us 'chicken wings'; I didn't know exactly what that was, but I liked it. It was covered in this, um... what was it? Barbecue sauce, that was what it was. I got a lot of it on my face. And the 'sofa' apparently.

When we finished eating, they cleaned us up. And put a new... I forgot the word, on. The last one was wet, so I was happy. I didn't understand why I had it on through, it got wet every time I peed. Then we played a little bit more. But then those three stopped us.

Edward was with Isabella. He was showing her a 'book'. Looked boring to me. They were just sitting there. Doing nothing but talking and pointing. I didn't like it.

Esme took Melissa and they were 'drawing'. She was making colorful marks on some white flat thing. That looked boring too. I wondered what Alice wanted to do. She left the room to get something and left me sitting on the 'sofa'. _'I'm bored! I wanna play! Oh, here comes Alice.'_

"I found it! I think you'll enjoy this," Alice said. I understood found. That was it. She was holding something that looked a lot like a 'book'. _'I don't want a book! I wanna play!'_ She sat next to me.

"This is a magazine," she said, pointing to the thing she was holding. A 'magazine'. Well, I didn't think I would like it. She opened the 'magazine'. And pointed to one of the pictures. I looked. _'Oh, pretty!'_

"I thought you'd like it. You might be little, but you have good fashion instincts," Alice said, showing me some of the other pictures. Some of the other people laughed for some reason. I sat closer to Alice, and leaned on her side, so I could get a better view.

She showed me the rest of the pictures, and then showed me a new magazine. Then another. At some point, they started playing sounds. I didn't notice because I was looking at the pretty, uh, dresses. _'What is that?'_ I looked around, to see where the sounds were coming from.

"Adri," I looked at Alice, "that's music. It comes from the radio." She pointed at something. I looked at it. So that was a 'radio'. And it made 'music'. Cool. I liked 'music'. I listened for a while. It was making me sleepy.

"Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will go baby, cradle and all." Alice sung really softly. I yawned. I was sleepy. I laid my head in Alice's lap. She kept singing.

* * *

I woke up first. Melissa and Adriana were still asleep. I was still on the sofa, with Alice. She was looking at a magazine. I sat up. Melissa was on the other sofa, and I couldn't see Isabella. She had to be asleep in one of the other rooms. It was quiet. I didn't like it.

_'What do I do? My sisters are asleep, so I can't play with them. And I'm not sure how to play with these people. What do I do?'_ I looked around the room.

I got off the sofa. I was bored. I walked around the room. There was a lot of stuff here. Sofas and tables and stuff on the tables. There was also stuff on the floor. I saw that thing we were playing with earlier. I picked up this cute, soft brown thing. It has arms and legs and a head and a tummy.

I shook it. The arms and legs moved. I held it. It was soft. I liked it. _'What else is there?'_ There was a mini version of a person. It looked weird. I kept looking. I saw a box. The box was kinda big. It had colorful pictures. I wondered what was inside of it. I walked over to it.

I tried to open it. I couldn't with my hands, so I bit a hole in it and ripped the sides open. A bunch of colorful things fall out. There are bunch of shapes. Boxes and triangle like ones and a lot of others. I sat on the floor and picked some up.

"Hey, you found the blocks," one of the yellow-haired ones said. This yellow was different. It was darker and had a little bit of light brown in it. He was tall, like the other guys. _'His name is... his name is... his name is... Eric! That's his name.'_

"Can I play with you?" he asked. I knew the word 'play', it meant play. I nodded my head. He could play with me. I didn't even know how to play with these. He picked up some of them.

"This is what you do," he said, setting them on the floor, "you stack them up like this." He got more and puts them on top of the others. Then he got more. And more. He gave me a box. I put it up on top of the other ones. Then I got more. Eric grabbed a few more and set them on the floor. I put more boxes on top of those.

He kept putting some on the floor. So I kept putting boxes on top of them. He made a square shape. Then helped me stack the boxes. Then we took the other shapes and used them. It was fun stacking these things. He had to start picking me up, because it was getting too tall. We finished using all the colorful things. _'What did he say it was called?'_

"What?" I asked, pointing to the colorful thing.

"Blocks," he said. Right. They were called 'blocks'. We made a... something, but it's colorful! I liked it. I wondered what would happen if I moved the bottom blocks. I pushed some of the bottom blocks out. The thing fell! It was cool! And made a lot of noise.

"Ah!" I squealed. _'That was cool! Again, again, again, again, again, again, again!_' I started moving the block to do it again.

"Let me guess, you're gonna built it up, then tear it down," Eric said. I looked at him and went back to building. I was going to make this one really tall. Really really tall.

* * *

So I kept building with the blocks. Isabella was the first to wake up, so she helped me build. Then Melissa woke up. Then I got bored with building. So we did something else.

At first we started opening these slidy things and small doors, to see what was in there. Somethings we took the stuff out and played with it. But then they started stopping us. And putting the stuff back. So we went back to playing with toys.

I think they got new ones, because I didn't see these before. There was a box, that had round things on it. It could carry things around. Melissa climbed into it and we pulled her around. Then I pulled her out, and climbed in. So they had to pull me around. Then we got... the yellow-haired man to pull us.

It was either Carlisle or Jasper. _'Hey! I'm doing good at remembering their names. I'm awesome. Wait, which one is this? Jasper is taller than Carlisle, so... this is Jasper. Because the other yellow-haired man is shorter.'_

So he was pulling us around. It was fun! But I hated when I had to get out. I didn't like waiting. We kept playing like this for a while.

"Girls, time to eat," Esme said. 'Eat' meant... food or eating. Either way, food! I was hungry! She sat us down on a... thing near a table.

"What?" Melissa asked, pointing to the thing.

"That's a chair," Edward said. A 'chair'. Cool. Edward was sitting at a black thing, making 'music'. I thought only radios could make music. _'I guess I was wrong.'_

"Okay, here's your food," Alice said, coming into the room. Esme was behind her. They set something down on the table. Alice was holding a sliver thing in her hands. That was what Rosalie was using this morning.

"Do you know what this is?" Alice asked. I shook my head. I had no idea.

"This is a fork," she said. _'A 'fork'. Interesting.'_

"Fort," I repeated. I liked this place; I was learning a lot. Alice started feeding me the food. It looked weird and was covered in a yellow watery thing. It had long pieces and I had to slurp up some of it.

"It's normal for them to mispronounce words, right?" Alice asked, looking somewhere else. _'Hey! Pay attention. I want more. I like this.'_ They had a lot of good foods. I reached out for the 'fork'. Alice turned back to me and gave me the next bite. _'Better.'_

"It's normal for children under five to mispronounce words," someone said. Alice kept feeding me. I looked at Isabella and Melissa. Rosalie was feeding Isabella, and Esme was feeding Melissa. Melissa's mouth was a little dirty. Mine was dirty too.

I finished eating after Isabella. Isabella was taking a 'bath'. _'What a bath?'_ I didn't know, but Alice said I was going to take one. But first, I was picking a 'pajamas' to sleep in. Alice had a lot of them. And a lot of colors. I liked the white and blue one. _'I'm picking that one.'_

"Good choice! You're going to look so cute," Alice said. She looked happy. Alice grabbed some other things, along with the dress. She took me to the room with the white thing. It kinda looked like a chair with a hole. They kept bringing me in here.

"Okay, bath time," Alice said, closing the door.

'Bath time' was fun. She put me in warm water, after sitting me on the white chair, that smelled really good. Really good. And there was these cool, uh... bubbles. My 'bath' was fun. I splashed a lot. Alice didn't like that; she kept trying to stop me.

The only thing I didn't like was that they wrapped my arm in something. I tried to take it off, but I couldn't; she stopped me. It didn't have any color; I could see through it.

After my bath, Alice dried me off, put a something on me, put my pajamas on me, ran something through my hair, and gave me the soft toy from earlier. I liked that toy. The mini person scared me. She tried to give it to me, but I threw it away. It would stare at me.

She put me on the soft thing I was sleeping on yesterday. Isabella was already there. Eric was showing her a book; she looked happy. I went to them, so I could see what they were looking at. _'Oh, pretty pictures!'_ Eric was saying something, it must have gone with the pictures or something. He pointed things out and said what it is.

He showed us a bunch of books. Melissa came a little later and looks\ed at them with us. The books were okay. I'd rather be playing then looking at them, but it could have been worse. He kept showing us books. I was getting sleepy. I laid down. Isabella was already asleep. Melissa was still awake. _'Well, good night Melissa, Isabella.'_

**Author's Note: Did you like it? Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: ****1/21/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Ten**

**Preparation**

**Rosalie's POV**

"Don't we need to get them passports?" Emmett asked. It was still early, so the girls were still asleep. Thank god. They were a handful.

"We can get them covered under one of our passports. One of us just has to reapply for a passport and put them on it," Carlisle answered. We were talking about where we are going to move. We couldn't stay in our home in Alaska much longer; we had stayed there to long. Then the conversation changed to how we were going to get the girls out of this country.

"Esme should be the one to reapply. No one would give it a second thought if a married 26 year old puts three young children on her passport," Alice said. That was true.

"Any idea on how long it would take?" Carlisle asked. We couldn't stay here long; the hotel suite wouldn't survive. I glance at the hole in the wall. _'How are we going to explain that?'_

"It should be ready by Friday night, if you go today and bribe some people," Alice stated. _'Money really can get you anything, as long as you're dealing with humans.'_

"Alright. After the girls eat breakfast, Carlisle and I can go down to the Embassy," Esme suggested. Carlisle nodded at that. That was settled. Now, I asked a better question.

"Can the girls even ride on a plane? We could barely get Adriana to sit still to eat. And they don't exactly move at human speed," I pointed out. Adriana alone was going to be a major problem. Add on Melissa, that sneaky little girl with too much curiosity, and it becomes a problem even for vampires. Isabella was a pretty calm child, as long as the other two didn't hyper her up. So I wasn't too worried about her.

"We could leave at bedtime, then they would just sleep through the first part of the ride," Edward suggested. That would help. It wouldn't solve the problem, but it would help.

"Good idea. So, we leave Saturday night. Any objections," Carlisle asked; no one said anything, "Alright it's settled."

"So we have, including today, four days to pack up, buy plane tickets, and get the girls ready for the 14 or so hour ride to our home in Alaska. Then we have to pack up our stuff there, but a new house, sell our old house, and move into our new home," Carlisle continued. Wow, we were going to be busy.

"We've talked enough about this for now. Let's finish this later; the girls are going to wake up soon and we need to start breakfast," Esme said. She got off the sofa and went to the kitchen. I followed her. Emmett and Richard stayed in the living room, discussing games to play with the girls. Eric went to his room; Alice and Jasper went to theirs; and Carlisle started gathering the documents he and Esme would need for the passport. Edward was listening to Emmett and Richard, occasionally commenting.

Esme and I started making breakfast. We made french toast. So far, the girls seemed to have liked everything we have given them. They weren't very picky. For little girls, they sure could eat. Especially Adriana, although that wasn't too surprising. She was the most hyper one. Even eating, she still squirmed around. Getting her to do a quiet activity, so she could relax for a nap, was near impossible. I didn't know how Alice did it.

Melissa was a bit easier. She was hyper, like Adriana, but not to the same extent. It took longer than with Isabella, but she did eventually sit down and draw with Esme. She was good at hiding; if it wasn't for her heartbeat, it would have taken a lot longer to find her. She also talked a lot. Most of what she said was gibberish, but it was starting to make sense as her vocabulary improved.

Isabella was the quietest and calmest child I had ever seen. Most of the time. She didn't complain or try and fight it when Edward took her aside to show her a book. She seemed interested. She was also very affectionate. She cuddled up to him and would ask a lot of us to pick her up. She loved to be picked up. It was so cute.

Anyway, today we are giving them french toast and yogurt with cut up pieces of banana. I was worried about giving Adriana yogurt. She made a mess yesterday with the barbeque sauce. She was probably going to make a mess with the yogurt. I heard a yawn coming from Esme's and Carlisle's room. _'Sounds like someone's awake.'_

"I'll go get her. You finish the french toast," I told Esme. I wiped my hands and walked into the room. It was Isabella. She looked so cute in her yellow pajamas. It was a pale yellow top with striped yellow and white bottoms. She looked at me as I walk in. Then reached out her arms for me to pick her, which I obliged. She really was so cute.

"Hey sweetie. You hungry?" I asked, walking over to the bathroom. She nodded her head.

"We'll just go to the bathroom real quick and then you can eat," I told her. When we got to the bathroom, I pulled down her diaper and sat her down on the toilet. I waited until she went to take her off. When she finally did, I wiped her and pulled her diaper back up. I quickly washed my hands and then took her to the living room. I couldn't wait until she could do that by herself.

I sat her at the dining table in the living room. Esme already put the french toast and yogurt on the table along with a bottle of syrup. There was one piece with cinnamon and one without. I poured the syrup on the french toast. I cut the one with cinnamon into pieces first and give a piece to her. Isabella made a slight face, but ate it.

After cutting the second one, I gave her a piece without cinnamon. She seemed to like that more. I set the other pieces of toast aside and feed the cinnamon-less pieces to her. When she finished, I set down the fork and picked up the yogurt and spoon.

"What?" she asked, pointing to the other slice of french toast.

"That's french toast," I told her. Isabella nodded her head.,but doesn't repeat the word, like the other two normally do. I set the bowl of yogurt on my lap.

"Can you say french toast?" I ask her. _'How is she going to learn to talk if her doesn't repeat things.'_ I knew she could; she and the other two had done it before. In fact, they learned new words pretty quickly. So far, we haven't needed to tell them the name of things more than twice. Usually they learned it after the first time. I guessed that it was the vampire in them. Gave them a good memory.

"Fwench toast," She repeated. I smiled and picked up the yogurt. I fed her a little bit of the yogurt. She seemed to like it. Some of it spilled out of her mouth, so I had to scoop it up with the spoon. After about three minutes, Isabella started reaching for the spoon. I figured why not.

I let her hold the spoon, and helped her feed herself. She spilled some of it on her shirt, but overall did okay. She picked things up quickly. It was amazing. I wondered if they other two could do this. They probably could.

Speaking of the other two, someone else woke up. Esme went to take that one. At the exclamation of "Esme!", I knew it was Melissa. She talked the most. Adriana was the loudest, but Melissa talked the most. She tried to call everyone by their name. She mixed up Carlisle and Jasper a couple of times, but overall did well.

"Food!" Melissa said. Esme had asked her if she was hungry.

"But first, we go to the bathroom," Esme replied. I could hear Melissa and Esme walk to the bathroom.

"Batwoom," Melissa repeated. I went back to helping Isabella eat. She continued to try and feed herself.

"That's right. This is a bathroom," Esme said, empathizing the word bathroom. Isabella spilled more food on herself. I grabbed a napkin and wiped her top. Then quickly wiped her face and continued feeding her.

"Food!" Melissa said, walking into the room. She was wearing a white, short sleeved pajama top with a red flower pattern and dark red bottoms. She ran over to us and pointed to the yogurt.

"What?" Melissa asked. Esme went to go get her food.

"This is yogurt," I explain, helping Isabella continue to eat.

"Yo-yogurt" Melissa repeated, stuttering a little. Hey! She said it right.

"Good job," I told her, which made her smile. I turn back to Isabella.

"Can you say it?" I ask Isabella. She ate another spoonful of yogurt and nodded her head. I took away the spoon and waited for her to say it.

"Yogurt," she said. I gave her the spoon back. Melissa decided to try and climb into a chair. Considering Adriana ran into a wall hard enough to make a hole(granted, it was dry wall and not that sturdy), and walk away with only a bruise that didn't seem to bother her, I don't think falling from a chair will hurt Melissa. So I let her try without help.

Esme came back into the room, while I was setting down the bowl. Isabella stopped eating, so I guessed she was full. I wiped her face and hands, and then set her down. Isabella just stood there for a few seconds, looking lost, until Emmett called her over.

As Isabella went to go play with Emmett and Richard, I turned my attention to Melissa. Esme picked her up and set her down on the chair. She was using her newly learned words to talk with Esme.

"French toast! Fort!" She said, trying to grab the fork. _'I think she wants to feed herself.'_ Esme cut the french toast into little pieces and let her try. Melissa dropped a few of the pieces, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"Okay, now for the yogurt," Esme said, when Melissa ate the last piece. Melissa nodded her head, concentrating on the yogurt. It was amusing how seriously she watched Esme grab the spoon to scoop up the yogurt.

The sound of a quickening heartbeat informed me that the little sleeping redhead was awake. I called out to Alice, asking if she wanted to take this one. She didn't. I went and got her.

"Hey, cutie. You slept in late," I said, walking into the room. Adriana was already trying to climb down from the bed, but was still tangled in the bedsheets. I untangled her, then set her down. She wearing a dark blue shirt with white details and white bottoms. She tried to run into the living room, but I stopped her.

"First, we go to the bathroom. Then you can go in there," I told her, walking her to the bathroom. Adriana followed me, surprisingly without complaint. When we finished in the bathroom, I let her run into the living room.

When I got there, Melissa finished eating and was playing with Isabella and the guys. Esme sat Adriana down to eat. I decided to watch the children play. And by children, I was including my husband and brother.

"What are you playing?" I asked my childish hubby, after giving him a quick kiss. I sat down on the sofa arm.

"Oh, it's like a scavenger hunt. We showed them a bunch of toys then hid the toys. We tell them the name of something, and they have to find it," Emmett explained. Sounded simple.

"Found it!" Melissa yelled, running back with a blue block. Isabella came shortly after holding a green one.

"Okay. Now, find the doll," Richard said. Melissa ran off and started looking in the pile of toys that nobody picked up. Isabella looked under the sofa. Isabella reached under and pulled out a blond haired doll. She handed it to Emmett.

"Good job, Bella! Now to wait for Melissa," Emmett said. I raise an eyebrow. _'Bella? I guess that's a good nickname.'_ Melissa came over with a red haired doll a few moments later.

"Okay, now find a teddy bear," Emmett said. Melissa and Isabella just stood there for awhile, then Melissa looked over at Adriana and ran into Esme's room. I guess she remembered that Adri took a teddy bear to bed. Isabella just started looking around the room, under chairs, and behind pillows.

"Bear!" Melissa said, running back into the room. She was holding the teddy bear Adriana had yesterday.

"Mine!" Adri yelled, when she saw the toy in Melissa's hands. She tried to get down, but Esme stopped her. She hadn't finished eating. I took the toy from Melissa and handed it to Adriana. She squealed, smiled, and hugged it all at the same time. Wow, that was an overreaction.

"Teddy bear," Isabella said, pulling one out from behind a pillow. She handed it to Richard.

"Okay, now find the train car," Richard said. Melissa started looking in the pile again, while Isabella looked in the dining area. Adriana finished eating and joined us. She came up to Emmett and Richard, holding the bear to her chest with her cast covered arm.

"Looks like you need to start a new game," I told them. Adriana wasn't shown any of the toys.

"Looks like we do babe," Emmett said, while Melissa came back with a train car.

* * *

So at first, they played the game again after showing Adriana the toys. But Adriana kept getting distracted, and eventually just started playing by herself. Then Isabella found a music box and quit the game. Melissa was the only one that kept playing.

Esme and Carlisle left a few hours ago. Isabella noticed, and even asked where they were going. Esme just said out, which was a good enough answer for Isabella since she went back to the music box. At that time, Adriana was working hard undressing a doll. Why?- I did not know. She just did.

The rest of the family came into the living room, since there really wasn't much else to do. Alice and Jasper were cuddled up on the loveseat. Eric was playing with Richard and Melissa. Edward was writing another a composition, which he normally did when he was bored. Emmett and I were on the sofa, just enjoying time with one another.

At about half passed twelve, I started making a lunch for the girls. I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with baby carrots on the side. I cut up the sandwiches into little pieces. I carried the plates into the living room and put it on the coffee table, so the girls could just sit on the floor.

"Time to eat," I said. Isabella and Melissa came over at once. Adriana came a little later. She ate fast, probably wanted to get back to playing. When she finished eating her sandwich, she got up to leave.

"Hey! You didn't eat the carrots," Richard pointed out. I shook my head, trying to tell Richard to drop it. It was better to let her go back to playing, since she would probably come back to it later to try it. They ate at their own pace, and trying to force them to eat wouldn't help. Especially with the tantrum prone redhead.

"No!" Adriana shouted. Richard just picked up the carrot and gave it to her.

"Just try it," Richard insisted. _'Idiot, just drop it.'_

"No!"

"Try it."

"No!"

"Come on."

"No!"

"I won't play with you if you don't."

"Meany!"

"Just try it."

"You first!" Adriana shouted. That made Richard tense up. At some point or another, all of us have had to eat human food to keep up appearances. Richard had done it the least amount of times, by always ducking out and leaving one of us to clean up the mess. I chuckled. _'He really should have just left it alone.'_

"It's Richard. He can't leave things alone," Edward commented, replying to my thoughts. I shrugged. _'True.'_

"How about we go play?" Richard said, trying to backpedal. Isabella just sat there, munching on carrots like a good girl. Melissa continued to eat her the sandwich, watching the exchange with rapt attention.

"No! You eat!" she yelled stubbornly, shoving the carrot in his hand. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Come on. Let's just go play," Richard said, desperately trying to get out of this. Adriana was still upset.

"No! Eat!" she insisted. Richard shook his head, and Adriana just got more upset. Wow, it looked like she was going to have a tantrum.

"Richard, just eat it! You're upsetting her," I told him. He looked sadly at the carrot and went to take a bite.

"Watch your face. You know she's watching," I warned him. _'If he makes her hate carrots...'_

Richard took a bite and did his best to not look disgusted. He even... smiled, sort of. Adriana looked happy at that and grabbed another carrot. She ate that one quickly. Richard finished his baby carrot.

"There. Why don't we play now?" Richard asked. Adriana just handed him another carrot. _'Oh, looks like she's not done.'_ Richard looked at all of us, begging with his eyes to get him out of it. I wasn't going to help. And by the look on everyone's face, no one wanted to help him.

"Fine," Richard said, resigned to his fate. For every carrot Richard begrudgingly ate, Adriana ate one. I was sad when they ran out. I was tempted to go get more. Very tempted.

"Play!" Adriana exclaimed, tugging on his arm and pulling him to the blocks. She really liked those. Melissa and Isabella finished eating, and went with them. I picked up the plates.

"Remember to look for the signs that they need a nap," I told them, going to the kitchen.

"Like we can forget," Richard scoffed.

"Just making sure you don't have an excuse," I replied. If they missed their nap, they would be too restless to go to sleep and would stay up later. According to every book about toddlers, naps a]were extremely important to both the toddler and the parent. And the girls seemed a lot happier yesterday afternoon, compared to Monday. Although, that could be for a number of reasons.

"Adriana, give that back!" Edward yelled. Curious, I walked into the living room, to see the odd sight of Edward chasing Adriana. She was holding a piano key in her hand. Wow. This girl was destructive. First the wall, now this. We needed to keep a closer eye on her.

"Adriana, give it back," Edward said, cornering her.

"No! Mine!" She said, holding it to her chest._ 'Wait, where did the teddy bear go?'_ I looked around the room. Maybe we could trade. I found the teddy bear under the sofa.

"Adri, look," I said. Adriana looked up.

"Teddy!" she cried. She ran to me. She tried to get it out of my hands, but I held it too high.

"Uh uh. First, give me that," I told her, pointing to the piano key. She looked down at it and put it in my hands.

"Teddy!" she yelled. I gave her the teddy bear. She hugged it hard. I hoped that thing survives. Adriana went back to the blocks. Tiny terror... With one arm. I didn't wanna know what she could do when that cast comes off.

"Neither do I," Edward said, walking back to the piano after I handed him the piano key. I went back to finish washing the dishes.

* * *

So, a few hours later, at about 3 o'clock, the girls started to look like they needed a nap. Adriana was disagreeable, Melissa talked less, and Isabella was sluggish. All the signs that they needed a nap. Isabella was the only one that took that news well.

It was easy to get Isabella to lie down on the bed and read. Jasper was the one to take her into the room and read to her. The book was about a cat.

Melissa didn't like being taken away from the toys. She found a puzzle with large pieces, and after seeing Eric putting two pieces together, she had been trying to put it together. I would have let her just continued, but I felt like that would just work her up when she stopped finding pieces that went together. So instead, I took her by the arm and sat her on the couch. I thought she would like to hear a song more than looking at a book. She could even sing with me, since she likes talking so much.

Adriana threw a tantrum. She didn't want to stop playing with the blocks, and she started crying and yelling. It was bad. We let her cry it out; when she calmed down, Alice took her- and the teddy bear - into her room. She said she was going to let her blow off some stream first with a game, then get her to do a quiet activity. For her, that was probably best.

"Okay Melissa. I thought we could sing a song. What do you think?" I asked her. She cuddled into my side, and I laid an arm around her. She nodded her head.

"Do you know what a song is?" I ask her. She shook her head. I laughed under my breath.

"A song is something you sing. It's a bunch of words you put together to sound pretty," I told her. She just continued to look up at me with her big, blue eyes. Adorable.

"Here's one, it's called beautiful dreamer," I told her. I took a breath and sing nice and soft.

"Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me," I began. Melissa tried to follow along.

"Bea-ti-ful dweamer, ake unto me," she sang, doing her best. I smiled and continued.

"Starlight and dewdrops are awaiting thee," I sang.

"Tarlight and dewd'ops are a-waiting thee," she sang. She looked happy.

"Sounds of the rude world heard in the day."

"Sounds of the wude world heard in the day."

"Led by the moonlight have all passed away."

"Wed by the moon'ight have all passed away."

"Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song."

"Beautiful dweamer, queen of my song."

"List' while I woo thee with soft melody."

"Wist' while I woo thee with sof melody."

"Gone are the cares of life's busy throng."

"Done are the cares of wife's busy thwong."

"Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me."

"Beautiful dweamer, awake unto me."

"Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me."

"Beautiful dweamer, awake unto me," Melissa finished. She did pretty well. She had a nice voice; could be a singer. She looked really calm. And a bit tired. If I kept singing, she probably would fall asleep.

"Want to hear it again," I asked her. She nodded, snuggling closer. I ran my fingers through her long hair, and continue singing.

"Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me..."

* * *

Adriana slept the longest. Isabella was the first to wake up, and she and Eric played with a puzzle. Not the one Melissa had, another one with less pieces. Melissa woke about ten minutes after, and she went to play with her puzzle. Adriana woke up about twenty minutes later, at a bit passed five thirty. Alice turned on the radio and Adriana started dancing.

Of course, she didn't want to dance alone, no girl would...

"Up! Up!" Adriana yelled. She grabbed Melissa and Isabella hands and pulled on them. After a bit of hesitation, Melissa jumped up and started dancing with her. Isabella just stayed there for awhile. When Melissa was able to convince Eric and Jasper to dance( an entertaining sight), Isabella finally got up and danced. Alice joined in and danced with Jasper

Of course, I wasn't going to be let out of this. Emmett and I joined in shortly after. Richard joined in after a bit of encouragement from Isabella.

"Edward!" Adriana said, grabbing his arm. He was the only one not dancing.

"No Adri," Edward said, still sitting on the sofa. _'Don't be a spoilsport. Just dance with us, everyone's doing it.'_

"Fine," Edward relented. He got up.

"Yay!" Adriana yelled, jumping. She went back to dancing with everyone.

* * *

Eventually, we had to stop. Esme and Carlisle were coming up and the girls were getting bored. Adriana, and her teddy bear, played hide and seek with Richard and Jasper. Isabella went back to the puzzle. Melissa found finger paints- whoever brought those was going to get in trouble- and like a child, made a mess.

At first she tried to paint on the walls. Discouraging her got Alice's clothes and the piano stained with green paint. After a few tries, we were able to get her to paint on paper. She liked the finger paints. I had no idea what she was drawing, but she was using a lot of colors.

"So, how did it go?" Jasper asked Esme. They just came in.

"Well. They said the passport should be ready by Friday," Esme answered. She looked at Melissa.

"Who bought finger paints?" Esme asked. She looked at all of us suspiciously. I shook my head. I didn't buy it; I'm not an idiot. Most of us seemed fine and calm. However, my husband seemed a bit worried. Of course. What was he thinking? Seemed Esme picked up on it too.

"Emmett, did you buy the paint?"Esme asked. I wasn't fooled by her calm voice. She was mad. The question was how mad.

"Uh... Maybe?" Emmett answered.

"Clean up the mess," Esme told him. Emmett ran to the kitchen, to get cleaning supplies. Esme looked at the paint covered Melissa, who was watching the interaction with a smile.

"She gets the first bath after dinner," Esme said, leaving the room. That was that.

* * *

"Food time!" Melissa said. We just told the girls that in a little bit, they needed to clean up to eat. Melissa continued painting, until Alice lead her away to wash her hands. Isabella and Adriana were clean, so I just lead them to the dining table.

I sat Isabella on the chair and helped Adriana climb on the chair to the left of it. Esme brought in the dinner. She and I made pizza. Seems that cooking for soup kitchen has payed off; Esme and I are the only ones that can cook human food. Plus, we have a recipe book.

I started giving Isabella and Adriana a slice of the pizza. Melissa and Alice came back and Alice sat her across the table from Adriana. I gave her a slice too.

Isabella and Melissa started eating right away, but Adriana just looked around the room.

"Adri, aren't you going to eat?" I asked her.

"Wichard eat first," Adriana said, matter-of-factually. Everyone, but Richard, Esme, and Carlisle, burst out laughing. Esme and Carlisle looked confused. Richard looked horrified.

"Richard, it looks like Adriana won't eat without you trying it first now," Edward got out. Esme and Carlisle still looked confused.

"Earlier Richard tried to get Adriana to eat her carrots and would take no for an answer, so she told him to try it first. She would eat them until he did," I tell them. Carlisle looked amused, and Esme looked at Richard with pity.

"You brought this on yourself. You never force a child to eat. If they say no, you drop it and try again later," Esme told him, grabbing another piece of pizza and handing it to him.

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes!"

"Yeah, you do."

"Sorry, but yes."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"You have to."

"Yep."

"You do."

Richard looks miserable. He was glaring at the pizza. Isabella and Melissa were just watching, nibbling on their slices. Adriana was staring at him, her pizza laid untouched in front of her.

"But I just threw up the carrots. Can't one of you do it?" He asked, trying desperately to get out of this.

"You have to do. She called you out," Alice told him. This was fun, I was enjoying this.

"Wichard, eat!" Adriana told him, pointing to the pizza slice in his hands. She was not backing down.

"I hate you," he mumbled, taking a bite. Adriana watched him for a few bites, then started eating. When Richard stopped eating, so did Adriana.

"You have to eat all of it," I told him. He reluctantly finished the slice. Adriana happily finished hers.

Esme gave Isabella and Melissa another slice, since they asked for one. Adriana reached out for another. Richard tried to walk away, but...

"Wichard!" Adriana shout, before he could leave. He turned around, and she just calmly pointed to the pizza. She knew he hated this, and was enjoying it like the rest of us.

"Can't weave yet," she stated, handing him a slice.

"Fine," Richard sighed, taking the slice.

* * *

"Adriana! No splashing," I told her, holding down her arms. Melissa had the first bath, and Isabella had the second one. Melissa and Isabella were in Esme's bed. Melissa was listening to a story read by Esme and Alice was brushing Isabella's hair last time I checked. Adriana was splashing me.

"Bubbles!" She shouted, picking up the foamy bubbles and throwing them. She was cute, but I was not the one that was supposed to be taking a bath. I washed out the conditioner from her hair and let the water out.

"Bath time is over," I told her. Adriana looked sad. I grabbed a towel and wrapped her in it, then carried her to Esme's room to dress her.

"What did Adri pick out this time?" I asked Alice, after I dried Adri and put a diaper on her. Alice handed me a pair of light pink pajamas, with a lot of lace and frills. That seemed about right. I dressed her and then sat her on the bed.

Isabella and Melissa were cuddled up to Esme listening to a new story. I got the wide toothed comb and started brushing her incredibly curly, red hair. Honestly, I loved the red color. Most would call it a dark red hair color, but it was more of a red velvet color. It was a borderline unnatural shade, but worked for her. It made her green eyes really pop. Plus, the curls just made her look beyond cute.

Not to say Isabella and Melissa didn't look cute too. Isabella had a rich brown color for her hair, with the slightest red tints to it. The color was pretty light now, but darker at the roots, so it probably would darken as she got older. Her hair had natural waves to it. It was a bit short, reaching just pass her shoulders, which I found odd since it didn't look like it had ever been cut. It went well with her chocolate brown eyes.

Melissa had almost pin straight hair, that curled in slightly because of how Esme brushed it. It was a blue-black color, unlike Richard's hair which is a brown-black. And it had more of a blue tone than Alice's hair. The dark color made her light sapphire eyes stand out. It looked nice on her.

Of course, they all had pale skin, however Melissa's was a tad bit darker. But their cheeks had a bit of a pink blush in them and their lips were a soft pink. That was probably because of their beating hearts.

Their heartbeat was an interesting thing; it was very slow. In fact, since they had been here, it had gotten slower. The rate was about 45-60 beats per minute when awake, maybe 70 beats when they were running around, and dropped to 30-40 beats when they slept. If we lose them in a public place, it would be very hard to find them.

I finished combing Adriana's hair and let her go lay down with the other two. Esme finished her book and started another one. Isabella was already asleep, with Melissa on her way. Adriana was wide awake, but calm. She wasn't as active at night.

"Okay, here's the next story. It's called 'Molly's Toys'" Esme began, telling a story of a little girl learning to share.

**AN: So, what did you think? Like it? Hate it?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Edited: 1/15/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Adventures Outside**

**Isabella's POV**

_'Why do we have to use 'spoons'? It's easier to eat with my hands. And less messy.'_ Esme was the one that took me to the bathroom when I woke up. I wasn't completely sure why, but I had an idea. I could be pretty smart when I wanted.

Anyway, after that Esme gave me a bowl of 'yogurt with strawberries' and 'apple slices'. The 'yogurt' was just white stuff with red things like the ones we found outside. I liked it.

I was trying to feed myself. It was hard. I didn't like using the 'spoon'. Adriana was still sleeping, Melissa was awake. She was trying to tell the story we heard yesterday, but she's missing some of the words. I had to give her credit; she was trying. That was more than I could say about myself.

"The butterfwy flied away! Wook, a kitty. It's back and white. The kitty... the kitty... Wook a monkey!" Melissa said, continuing her story. She totally skipped a part! _'Melissa, the 'kitty walked away'. Don't you remember? You have a bad memory.'_

"What did the monkey look like?" Rosalie asked. Melissa thought for a little. And took a bite out of her 'apple slice'.

"The monkey is bwown, and lives in a tree. Now... it's swinging away from me!" Melissa answered. I nodded. That was right. _'Yay Melissa!' _

"Bella, can you continue the story," Rosalie asked. I understood 'story', but not 'continue'. _'I think she want me to tell the rest. I don't wanna.' _I shook my head.

"Come on Bella. You can do it," Esme said. They were looking at me. I felt like I had to try, even though I didn't want to.

"Look a gog. It goes bark, bark. It bark at me, and ran away," I said, telling what I remembered came next. I liked the story, it had a lot of pictures of things I had never seen. I hoped I would dee them in real life one day.

"Good job Isabella," Alice said. I thought she was going to call me 'Bella' too. _'I like 'Bella'. It's easier to say the 'Isabella'. I should change it! Oh, I should tell them.'_

"No! Bella," I told her, saying 'Bella' slowly. Alice laughed, so I did too.

"Sorry. Good job Bella," Alice said, smiling. I smiled and went back to my yogurt. I stabbed it with the spoon. The yogurt stuck to the spoon. How did it do that?

"Adri still sweep?" Melissa asked. She was really trying to use her new words. I should have tried harder.

"Yes, Adri is still asleep," Esme told her, saying the word 'asleep' slowly. Melissa said it wrong, I could hear that. Esme handed Melissa another apple slice.

"Why?" Melissa asked. She looked up at Esme.

"Because she just is," Esme told her. Melissa nodded and looked down. She was thinking.

"You sweep?" Melissa asked. I frowned. I had never seen any of them sleep.

"Uh... No, I don't sleep," Esme said. _'She doesn't sleep? Why? I like sleeping. I feel better when I wake up.'_

"You eat?" I ask. I had never seen any of them, except Richard, eat either. They just gave us food. Weird. I wondered why.

"No, I don't eat." Esme said. _'Why?'_

"Why?" I asked. I leaned in, I really wanted to hear the answer.

"Because... I don't get hungry," Esme said. I nodded my head slowly, while my mind worked that out. I guessed that made sense. I didn't eat if I wasn't hungry.

"Ever?" Melissa asked. Esme nodded her head.

"Ever," She said. Melissa finished her apple slice and went to play with the puzzle. She really liked it. It was fun at first, but then it got boring when I couldn't put together any of the pieces. I liked playing games with Emmett and Richard more. They came up with good games. They were like us, but bigger. Way bigger.

_'Oh look, there's Richard! Why is he leaving? He can't leave, Adriana isn't up yet! She has to make him eat! That was funny; he didn't want to eat. His face was weird. And everyone else thought it was funny. No, I'm going to stop him. Richard, get back here!'_

"Wichard!" I said, stopping him. He looked over, so waved him over and smiled really big. He came over.

"Hi," I said, popping my spoon in my mouth. I took it out slowly. He smiled and messed up my hair. _'Hey! Don't do that.' _I leaned away quickly.

"No!" I told him, hitting his hand away. _'Don't mess up my hair; Alice made it pretty.'_ She changed me into new 'clothes'. It was a 'dress'. It covered my arms and had this little hole that I can put things in. Alice called it a pocket. It had a string thing around my neck, with a 'knot' in the back. It was bothering me. The dress was a really light blue color, like Melissa's eyes.

"Okay, I won't touch your hair," he said. _'Does 'hair' mean hair? I guess so. 'Touch' means touch, because sometimes Esme says 'don't touch that' and then moves me away. When I try to go back, she does it again. But only when I try to touch it. She really doesn't want me to touch that. I wonder why. I going to try touching it again.'_

"So, what do you want?" he asked. I just wanted you to stay here. _'Look! Adriana is awake.'_

"Adri!" Melissa yelled. Adriana had her 'clothes' changed too, like me and Melissa. I wonder why. They don't change our 'clothes' until after our bath. And we haven't had our bath.

"Food!" Adriana yelled, running to the table. She was loud. Why did she have to be so loud? She needed to calm down.

"I gotta go," Richard said._ 'No! You can't leave. Get back here, idiot!'_

"Wichard! Where you going?" Adriana asked, running to him. Wow, she was fast. One second she was there, then she was here. I had never seen her move that fast before. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the table. He didn't look happy! Which was funny. Really funny. _'I shouldn't laugh. It's mean. I'll just laugh in my head. Ha, ha. He's upset..'_

"Nowhere I guess," he said, sitting down on a chair. Adriana gave Richard a spoon. Richard looked at her.

"Do I have to?" He asked. _'Suck it up, you're not a baby.'_ I heard that phrase from Emmett. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I like it.

"Yes," Adriana said. He took a bite of the yogurt and made a face. I smiled and finished my yogurt. Then I went to go play with Melissa.

* * *

"Is this a good idea?" Eric asked, while Rosalie was putting on my 'shoes'. The were black. And shiny.

"We have to test them. We need an idea of how they're going to act in the airport. Plus, they need practice being human," Alice said. I didn't like my 'shoes'. I couldn't see my feet. And it felt weird. I tried to kick them off.

"What if they move too fast and a human sees?" Eric asked. The stupid shoes wouldn't come off! Rosalie stopped me from trying again.

"It's early, this hotel is pretty much vacant, and we have seven vampires keeping an eye on them," Alice said. Rosalie put me on my feet. I still didn't like my 'shoes'. It felt weird to walk in them. Melissa and Adriana already have theirs on. I tried walking in them.

"Seven?" Richard asked. I walked to Melissa and Adriana._ 'Maybe they can help me get them off.'_

"Esme and Carlisle are staying back. They need to make some calls and stuff," Alice said. Rosalie kept stopping me. _'I give up. This is too hard.'_

"Come on, it's time to leave. We only have a few hours until the sun comes back," Alice said. Rosalie grabbed my hand and lead me to the door. _'Where are we going?'_

"Come on girls, we're going outside," Alice said. _'Cool! We haven't been there in a while.'_

"Why?" Melissa asked. She twirled around, never letting go of Eric's hand.

"So you can meet new people," Alice said. Melissa stopped twirling.

"Why?" Melissa asked. She let go of Eric's hand and walked over to Alice.

"Because," Alice said. Melissa was about to say something, but Alice stopped her.

"Because," Alice said. Melissa just grabbed Alice's hand and smiled. Richard was holding Adriana's hand. Rosalie opened the door.

* * *

I didn't like 'meet new people'. The people here were boring. They wouldn't play with me, they just walked by. And every time I tried to run, Edward or Jasper stopped me. They said I have to be 'slow'. Like the new people. They walked slow. Why did I have to walk slow? I didn't wanna.

"Bella, you can't move that fast," Edward said, when I tried to run back to Adriana and Melissa. Melissa bounced a ball, and I went to get it. I went slow, because I was tried of them telling me that. I didn't want to, but I did. I wished they would cut me some slack.

"Why!" I shouted. Edward shushed me. _'No!I don't wanna be quiet!'_

"No!" I yelled. I would stop yelling, so Edward picked me up and took me outside. _'No! No! No! No! No! I hate you!'_

"Isabella," Edward said.

"No! No! No! No!" I yelled. He tried to hold me, but I struggled and push him away. Then I fell, but I didn't care. I just turned over on my tummy and started hitting the floor.

"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!" I shouted. I was really upset. At some point I started crying. After a couple of seconds, I stopped.

"No... No!" I yelled, calming down a little. I rubbed my eyes. I turned over on my back and reached out my hands for Edward to pick me up. He did and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Better?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"What's wrong? You don't like going slow," he asked. I nodded my head.

"I know, sweetie. I don't like going slow. But we have to around other people, okay?" he said. _'Everyone?'_

"Evewyone?" I asked. _'I don't wanna be slow all the time.'_

"Only when we say you have to be," he said. I nodded my head. Edward took me back inside. It was a large room. Alice was taking to a person(and he didn't look happy). Jasper was with Adriana and Melissa. Rosalie and Emmett were with Alice. Richard went somewhere, and Eric was reading a book. Edward put me down near Melissa and Adriana.

"Feeling better," Jasper asked. I nodded my head. Edward gave me the ball, and I went back to playing with my sisters.

* * *

Jasper carried Adriana out of the room. She started crying and yelling like I did. Melissa hasn't. She has been doing a good job staying slow.

"You're it!" Melissa said, hitting me on the shoulder. _'No fair! I was distracted.'_ I chase her(slowly) and when I couldn't catch up to her, I hit Eric.

"Eric's it," I said, running away. He started chasing me. But he wasn't even slow running. He was slow walking. Eric got Adriana. Then she started chasing me. It was fun.

* * *

"Food?" I asked Jasper. He brought Melissa back a while ago and we kept playing the game Richard showed us. But I stopped, because I was hungry.

"You're hungry?" He asked. I nodded my head. Edward and Richard looked over. Eric grabbed Adriana's and Melissa's hands and brought them over.

"Esme left sandwiches to give them," Edward said. Oh, sandwiches. That sounds cool.

"Okay. Come on girls," Eric said, pulling them to the 'stairs'. Jasper and I started to go too. When we got to the 'stairs', Adriana looked back.

"Wichard!" She yelled. I looked back. Richard wasn't leaving with us. _'Bad Richard!'_

"Oh, come on!" He said. He sounded angry. He came over.

"I wonder how long she'll keep this up," Edward said. Jasper and I started up the stairs.

"Hopefully, not long." Richard said.

* * *

The 'sandwiches' were yummy. When we finished, they let us play for a while without having to go slow. It was fun seeing new people(they smelled weird), but they were not very fun. And why did they have to walk so slow? I didn't get it...

Anyway, Eric put on some music. Adriana started dancing. She just jumped all over the place, like a bouncy ball. She grabbed me and made me dance with her. Melissa got away and went to play with her puzzle again.

Then music stopped.

"More! More!" Adriana shouted. Really, did she have to be so loud? We could hear you, sissy. No need to yell.

"Okay, okay," Eric said. He pressed something and new music started. Adriana kept dancing, but I didn't. I got away. I was kinda tired. I walked over to Edward and reached out my hands. He picked me up and I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Tired?" He asked. I nodded my head. He carried me into one of the rooms.

"Want to hear a story?" he asked. I nodded my head again. He set me down and went to get a book. I wondered which one it will be.

He came back holding a red book. There was a 'dog' on it. _'Oo, I like that story.'_

"Is this one okay?" He asked, sitting next to me. I sat closer so I could see the book. Then nodded my head.

"Alright. Once there was a dog named rover..."

* * *

_'What was that?'_ I sat up, then opened my eyes. I looked around the room. Edward wasn't here anymore. _'What happened? Oh, yeah. I fell asleep. What woke me up?'_

"Hey honey," Carlisle said, walking into the room. I smiled at him.

"Sorry about the noise. We had someone else in here," he said. I looked at him, then reached out my hands. _'If I have to be awake, then someone's carrying me.'_ He picked me up.

"Who?" I asked. He said 'somebody', but I didn't think that was a name.

"The man from downstairs. The one who was talking to Alice," he said. _'What man... Oh, that guy! Now I remember. Well, it was mean of him to wake me up. I was having a nice dream, that I can't remember.'_

"Gone?" I ask. _'If he's here, does that mean I have to go slow?'_

"He's gone." Carlisle said, carrying me out of the room. _'Good.' _Carlisle set me down on the floor. I looked around. Adriana and Melissa weren't here. They must have still been asleep.

"Hey Bella," Alice said. She was sitting down on the sofa. I walked over to her.

"So, I was going to go outside for a little bit. Do you want to come?" Alice said. _'I guess that could be fun. I don't have anything else to do.. wait.'_

"Go slow?" I asked. She nodded. I pouted and shook my head. I didn't want to go slow.

"Please. It'll be fun, even if you have to go slow," Alice said. _'Well, I did have fun earlier. Fine.'_

"Okay," I said. Alice sat me on the sofa and put on my 'shoes'. I forgot about those.

"There, let's go," Alice said. She set me on the floor and held my hands. Jasper came over. I guessed he wanted to come too.

* * *

_'Wow. This thing can go almost as fast as I can!'_ Alice took me outside, then Jasper, Alice, and me got into this 'car'. It had doors and a place to sit. But that was it. You couldn't stand up or play in here. But I could watch stuff go by really fast.

_'Why do I have to go slow, but this 'car' can go fast? It isn't fair. Oo, what's that! There's a lot of stuff out there. And a lot of people. And a lot of colors. It's cool.'_

"Like the car ride?" Jasper asked. I nodded my head. It was cool. I smiled and looked outside a little more. This was almost as good as running. The only thing was that I couldn't feel the wind, and I wasn't actually running. That was the really fun part.

* * *

_'I'm bored! This isn't fun. I wanna go back! How much longer do we have to do this? Alice lied! I hate her and this. I wanna leave!' _Alice went into a bunch of 'stores' and I couldn't do anything in them. They were like giant rooms, with one see-through wall. I didn't like them. I couldn't run, I couldn't touch the stuff because someone would yell at me, I couldn't do anything. I was bored.

"Alice, I'm going to take Bella somewhere else," Jasper said, taking my hand. _'Where are we going? Is it a fun place? Can I run? Is it going to be boring?'_

"Alright! And don't buy her candy," Alice said. _'What's 'candy'?'_

"I thought you can't see things involving the girls," Jasper said. _' Doesn't 'see' mean see? Alice can see. What is he talking about?'_

"I was able to make out a candy shop before the vision got blurry," Alice said. _'What are they talking about?'_

"Fine, I won't take her to a candy shop," Jasper said. He took my hand and we left. I heard Alice say 'liar' before we left.

We passed a lot of people. And I mean a lot. There was a lot of smells and colors and things there. Jasper and I kept walking, until we passed a store that had toys. I(of course) stopped and pointed. And jumped. And yelled:

"There! There! There! There! There! There! There! There! There!" I kept it up until Jasper finally walked into the store with me.

_'Whoa..'_

_'Toys. A lot of toys.'_

_'A LOT of toys. I want.'_

"Bella-" I didn't hear the rest. I ran toward the toys. _'Oo look, teddy bears! They're weird colors.'_ Jasper came up to me.

"Bella!" He said, sounding mad. I looked at him, surprised. Was he going to make me leave? _'What did I do?'_

"You can't move that fast, remember," he said. _'Oh, right. I forgot. I'm sorry.' _I looked down and kicked

my feet.

"And you can't run off like that. There's people who might hurt you," Jasper said. _'Wait, people like them? Like the red eyed them. No! I don't wanna meet people like that!' _I hugged Jasper's leg.

"It's okay. Nothing is going to happen to you, as long as you don't run away," Jasper said. _'I can do that.'_ I nodded my head.

"Now that that's over. Do you want a toy?" He asked. _'Yes! What kinda question is that?'_

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" I said. He laughed, and I look back at the toys, this time making sure I move slow. _'Oh, these bears look cute! What's that?' _I started walking away, making sure Jasper was coming too. _'What is this?'_

"That's a tricycle," Jasper said. _'Weird word. What does it do? What's that? Oh, look a bunch of trains! These are cool. Oh, look little 'cars'. What's this?'_ I put my finger in one of the little holes. It moved. In a circle.

"That's a dial phone." Jasper said. Round and round it went. I picked up the part on top._ 'What do you do with this?'_

"See, you use a phone to talk to people who weren't there," Jasper said. _'How can you do that?'_

"You use this," he points to the black turny thing, "to mark a number." I did not understand that.

"And you use this," he points to the top part, "to talk and listen." _'How?'_ Jasper grabbed the top part and put it to my ear.

"You just hold this to your mouth, and this to your ear," Jasper said. I held the toy part. It didn't work.

"This is a toy, so it doesn't really work. But you can pretend," Jasper said. _'Pretend?'_

"Do you want it?" Jasper asked._'I don't know. Well, I like the spinny thing. But it doesn't seem very fun. No, I don't want it.' _I shook my head. Jasper took my hand and pulled me somewhere.

While we were walking away, I saw a really cute white and red toy. It looked so soft. It looked like Adriana's teddy. But better. _'Want it! Want it! Want it!' _I poked Jasper and pointed to the toy. I smiled and tried to look as cute as possible.

"Okay," Jasper said, walking me over. There was a lot of pretty bears, but I liked the white and red one the best. Jasper got it for me. He gave me my toy.

"Come on," Jasper said. We started walking toward a table and a person.

"Bella, I need to hold that for a little while, okay?" Jasper said, getting my bear. _'He better give it back; it's mine.'_

"Hello, sir. Having a good day?" the man said. He looked nice. He looked at my toy. I lost interest, so I look around. _'What's that? It looks weird.'_

"Yes. You?" Jasper said. _'How do you play with that? It doesn't look very fun. When can I get my toys back?'_

"Business has been a bit slow lately. So, who is this little girl?" the man said. _'Oo, what's that? That looks cool. Complicated, but cool.'_

"This is my little sister, Bella," Jasper said. I heard my name. _'What's a 'sister'? Where's my toy!'_

"Well, she is just adorable. That will be $0.65," the man said. Jasper handed him something. _'Give me my toy.'_

"Have a great day," the man said, while we were leaving. Jasper gave me the teddy bear. _'Yay!'_ It was soft. I hugged it hard with one arm, since Jasper was holding one of my hands. We started walking away from the 'store'.

I looked around. _'What's that? That 'store' is colorful. I wonder what's in there. Ow, hey!'_ Someone bumped into me and I almost fell. That wasn't nice. _'Meany!' _Jasper pulled on my arm, so we kept moving.

"Hey Bella," Jasper said. I looked up. He had a weird look in his eyes. _'Alice isn't going to like this...'_

"Want to try some candy?" He asked. I didn't know what it was, but sure! I'll try anything once.

"Okay," I told him. Jasper walked me to another store.

* * *

"I thought I said no candy," Alice said, when we met up with her. Mm-mm... Candy was sweet. Jasper shrugged. Alice didn't look angry, so it had to be okay.

"Did you at least get some for Adri and Melissa?" Alice said. Jasper held up a bag, that had more candy in it.

"Yep," he said. We got into another car. I put my teddy bear in my lap and looked outside. I was happy. I got a pretty bear and really really sweet candy! I liked candy!

"So, is that your teddy bear Bella?" Alice asked. I nodded my head and hugged it close. _'Mine. Don't touch it.'_

"It's very cute. So she picked it out?" Alice said, to Jasper this time.

"Yep. And this," Jasper said, pointing to the candy. I picked out all the candy; I only picked things that were colorful. But Jasper put some of it back.

"They are going to grow up so spoiled," Alice said._ 'What's 'spoiled'?'_

"No doubt," Jasper said. _'Oo, was that a dog? It is! Yay!'_

* * *

"Mine!" I yelled, when Adriana tried to get my teddy bear. It was mine. Mine. Adriana tried to get it again, so I ran away. The grown ups were talking, but I wasn't paying attention. I was trying to make sure Adri didn't get my toy.

After a while, Eric picked me up. I was confused, but then I saw the table. It was time to eat! Yay. _'No Adri, its my toy! Stop it! Stop it! Stupid sister!'_ Richard grabbed Adriana, so she had to stop trying to get my toy. Mine.

So I started eating. I didn't really like my food, but I was hungry, so I ate it. The green stuff was really gross. But I ate it all.

"Good job Bella. You ate all your food. How about some candy?" Esme said. _'Yes! I knew that eating that yucky stuff would pay off. Candy! Give me. I nod my head. Give me! Give me! Give me! Give me!_

"She shouldn't be so excited over candy. So what do you want?" Esme asked, opening the bag of candy. I looked and picked this one with a sliver and brown outside. Esme took of the outside part, and gave me the candy part.

"What that?" Adriana asked. She only ate half of her food. Even Richard ate all his food. Adriana was still making him eat first. It was getting old.

"Candy!" I answered, eating more of it. _'Mm-mm... I love candy!'_

"I want!" Adriana said. She didn't look happy.

"Finish your food first," Esme said, pointing to her food. _'Ha.'_

"Me candy?" Melissa asked. She ate all her food too.

"Sure, you can have some candy." Esme said. She showed Melissa the candy, and Melissa picked something. I was distracted by my candy. Adriana went back to her food. _'If you don't eat it, you don't get candy.'_

"Come on Bella. Time to pick out your pajamas,"Alice said. _'Yay! Pajamas!'_ I jumpped down from my chair, and walked with Alice to pick something out. And I was still holding my teddy bear.

* * *

_'Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles. I like bubbles. Bubbles, bubble, bubbles. I like bubbles.'_

"Okay, Bella. Time to get out," Alice said. _'Do I have to? I like my bath.' _The water went away, and Alice wrapped something around me and carried me to one of the rooms. She dried me and helped me put on my pajamas. They were blue.

"Okay. Time to get in bed," Alice said. She put me on the 'bed'. And gave me back my teddy bear. Then she grabbed her 'brush' and moved it through my hair. I liked it when she does that. It calmed me.

"Oh Bella, you have very pretty hair," Alice said. I smiled. _'Thank you Alice.'_ I played with my teddy.

"Alice, where's the lavender bubble bath?" Rosalie asked. Melissa was with her. I guessed she was going to have a bath now.

"Bella knocked it over and it all spilled out. You have to use the other one," Alice said. She moved me near the pillows. I laid down and she covered me with something.

"What?" I asked, pointing to the thing covering me.

"That's a blanket," Alice said. _'Oh, blankets. They're warm. And soft.'_ I snuggled into the bed and waited for someone to read me my story.

"Okay Bella. Which story do you want to hear?" Alice said, holding up a bunch of books. I liked that one with the kitty. I pointed to that one. Alice put the other ones down, and sat next to me. I moved a little so I could see the pictures.

"Casey the cat had a little problem," Alice started.

**AN: So, did you like this chapter? BTW remember Bella is two years old. Most Two-year-old's are selfish most of the time.** **Their favorite words are 'mine' and 'no'. Bella is no different. She is not an exception here. She's a normal half-vampire two year old.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: 2/18/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd-numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even-numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Practice Makes Perfect**

**Eric's POV**

"Bella did well. I think as long as we remind them to go slow, we won't have any problem," Jasper said. _'Of course Bella did well, you expected her to.'_ I wasn't so sure about Adriana. Or Melissa for that matter.

"I don't know. Bella is a pretty calm child, so it's not surprising she did well. But Adriana, and to a less extent Melissa, are pretty hyperactive. I mean, downstairs Adriana messed up a lot. Had anyone really been paying attention..." I trailed off. Wouldn't have been good.

"We don't really have much of a choice. If we want them to sleep through most of the plane ride, we need them awake when we check in," Alice said. She had a point.

"Then we need to take Adriana and Melissa out again. Test them again. Hopefully it'll go better than yesterday," I said. _'I know we don't have a choice, but... we can't take them to an airport if there's a high chance they'll mess up. It dangerous and stupid.'_

"Then we'll do that. We'll take them downstairs again to see how well they do and get them used to playing human," Carlisle stated. _'Alright, I can agree with that.'_

"And what if they're not ready," Edward asked. I look edat Carlisle. We were sitting in the living room during this discussion. It was pretty late in the morning. It was surprising that the girls were still sleeping, normally they were awake by now. Alice and Jasper had just come back from spending 'alone time' in the forest. I went out to see a late night movie. Not sure how everyone else spent the night.

"We postpone leaving," he replied. It was the only choice we had.

"Then, we have to get a new hotel; the manager here hates us," Rosalie mentioned. _'Oh, yeah. That guy freaked out when he saw the hole.' _Thankfully, he bought our excuse.

Carlisle was about to say something, but he got cut off by light and brisk footsteps. I looked over to the doorway, to see Adriana staring back with a smile. How we didn't know she woke up was a mystery.

"Hey Adri! When did you wake up," Alice said, walking up to her. Adriana smiled brighter at Alice.

"I don't know," Adriana said, shrugging. Alice took her to the bathroom.

"So, we take them downstairs after breakfast," Esme suggested. Everyone agreed, so it was settled.

In the meantime, I was going to enjoy Richard eating human food the third day in a row. Hopefully, Adriana hadn't forgotten about that. It was still amusing.

"Adri, ready for breakfast?" Esme asked. Adriana nodded her head. She was oddly quiet this morning.

After Esme sat her in one of the chairs, and gave her her breakfast (oatmeal with maple syrup) I went to talk to her. _'I guess she forgot about making Richard eat. Too bad.'_

"Hi Adri," I said. She looked at me, then turned back to her food. Weird.

"Adri, are you feeling okay?" I asked. She was being way too quiet which worried me. She pointed to her head.

"Hurt," she said. I felt her forehead. She was a little warmer than yesterday, but not by much. I doubted she was that sick. She must have caught something outside from the humans.

"Well?" Esme asked.

"She's little warmer then yesterday, but not much. It's probably just a little head cold," I told her. Adriana just kept eating. Other than being quiet, she didn't look bad. Her skin was the same pale color and her heartbeat was still nice and steady. Not much to worry about.

"Carlisle, should we be worried?" Esme asked. Carlisle checked her temperature and vital signs.

"Like Eric said, her temperature is a bit higher. Her heartbeat and breathing rate are about the same. She doesn't seem all that sick," Carlisle told her. Esme visibly relaxed.

"Should we still take her out?" Rosalie asked. Carlisle shrugged.

"If she stays like this, I don't see why not," he said. Adriana kept eating. Melissa and Isabella were still sleeping when Adriana finished her breakfast. After Alice cleaned her up (because she got oatmeal everywhere), she took Adriana to get changed. Esme went to check on Melissa and Isabella. They normally didn't stay asleep this along.

"Hey honey. Sorry, did I wake you?" Esme said. Well, someone woke up. I could hear Esme put whoever it was on the floor and walk her to the bathroom. Adriana and Alice came back into the room. Adriana picked up a ball from the floor.

"Play?" she asked me. I nodded and shrugged.

* * *

"No Melissa, you can't run off," I said for the 13th time. After Melissa and Bella woke up and ate, Alice dressed them and we left. We went to some of the small stores that were close to the hotel, because they had less people and were closer.

Carlisle left to check on the passports. Rosalie, Emmett, and Richard took Adriana (who seemed to have gotten her energy back), while Esme and Edward took Bella. Jasper, Alice, and I took Melissa- who kept trying to run off. On the bright side, she was doing well at keeping a human speed.

"Why?" she asked, again. If she wasn't so cute, I would hit her. Okay, not really, bit the thought crossed my mind.

"Because if you run off, you can get lost. If you get lost, you can get hurt. Okay?" I told her. She looked at me, then looked away. I pulled her back by her arm.

"Stop that," I told her. She was not listening. I sighed.

"Any ideas," I asked Alice and Jasper. They were walking in front of us.

"Sorry. None," Alice said. I rolled my eyes. _'Great.'_

"Let go," Melissa said, trying to pull her hand out of my grip. I sighed and stopped.

"You guys go ahead," I told the couple. I turned to Melissa and knelled so I was at eye level.

"What do you want?" I asked her. Her eyes showed frustrated which clouded the crystal ice color.

"Run," she said._ 'Okay.'_

"You want to run," I stated. She nodded, shaking her hair into her face.

"Okay. I'll take you somewhere where you can run, but you can't run away from me. Understand," I told her. Melissa smiled and nodded. I stood up. Alice and Jasper were still within earshot. I saw Alice nodded her head. I tugged on Melissa's arm and took her down some of the allies.

I took her out into a nearby woods. I was glad we stayed near the outskirts. I checked to see if anyone was within seeing distance. With the coast clear, I turned back to Melissa.

"I'm going to let you go. You can run, but try not to go too far away from me. Okay?" I asked her. Melissa nodded and I believed her. I let go of her hand. She ran off. I followed, keeping a close eye on her. I didn't trust her that much.

* * *

"Better?" I asked her. Melissa ran for about an hour. She just turned around and gestured for me to pick her up.

"Yes," she said. The running flushed her face and her breathing sped up slightly. I carried her back to the stores. I walked to the store Alice planned to take Melissa. The girls didn't have clothes warm enough for our home in Fairbanks. Thankfully, it was summer, so we didn't need to buy heavy coats or anything like that. We didn't know how they would react to cold weather, so better safe than sorry.

They didn't seem to mind the cold temperature of our skin, but they did mind if their bath water wasn't warm. _'I hope they don't mind cold temperatures, since our home is pretty cold. It's the best place for us. It's remote and we have the freedom to be us.'_

I walk into the store, and put a squirming Melissa down. She ran(thankfully at a human speed) toward Alice. She wasn't noticeably dirty, to human eyes. She didn't fall or anything, so she stayed clean.

"Hi Melissa," Alice said. She picked her up.

"Hi Ally," Melissa said. She heard Jasper call her Ally and started using it. They picked up on behaviors very quickly.

"So Melissa," Alice said, holding her in one arm, and a dress in the other, "Do you like this?" Melissa looked at it, then shook her head. I went over to Jasper.

"What about this one?"

* * *

We left at about one o'clock. Alice had bought three bags worth of clothes. She picked up some things she thought Adriana and Bella would like. She already bought Bella stuff yesterday.

"After her nap, I have to take Adriana out. It's only fair," Alice said, after we got into the taxi. Melissa was sitting in her lap, holding a toy dog that someone gave her. A lady on the street was selling homemade toys and she gave Melissa the dog for being, quote 'the most adorable thing ever'. When she wasn't looking, I put five dollars in her purse.

Melissa liked the toy. Now all three girls had a stuffed toy. _'Hopefully they'll stop fighting over them. It's really starting to get annoying.'_

"You're just looking for an excuse to go shopping again aren't you?" I asked her. Alice said nothing. That answered that.

"Bark, bark!" Melissa said, moving her toy dog around. She looked happy.

"Woof!" She said, putting it in Alice's face. Alice moved the toy out of her face, chuckling at Melissa.

"Bark, bark," Melissa said. She giggled at her toy.

* * *

"Mine!" Adriana said, trying to stop Melissa from taking her cookie. Esme and Rosalie made macaroni and cheese, and had a few cookie for afterward. Melissa finished first, since she started eating first. After she ate her cookie, she tried to take Adri's.

"Melissa stop that," Esme said. She took the cookie away from Melissa and gave it back to Adriana. Melissa looked sad. I rolled my eyes. Really? I took Melissa by the hand and walked her to the toys we still hadn't picked up. It wasn't that we're lazy or anything(except Richard); there was no point in picking them up because the girls just throw them everywhere.

"Wanna play?" I asked her, trying to distract her. She nodded her head.

* * *

"So when the music plays, you dance. When it stops, you stop. Understand?" Alice said. She was showing the girls a new game. I was sitting on the sofa arm watching. Alice turned on the music and the girls started dancing. Then she stopped it and they froze.

They kept this up for a few rounds. Then Adriana came over and dragged me onto the 'dance floor'. She was my least favorite.

"Do I have to?" I asked, not really excepting an answer.

"Yes," all four of them(Adriana, Melissa, Bella, and Alice) answered.

* * *

"How did we get to this?" I asked Edward. I was watching a very odd sight. Richard pretending to be a dog.

"I'm not sure," Edward replied. They were playing fetch. The girls were throwing a ball, and Richard was fetching it. It was just so weird.

"He's enjoying being a dog," Edward informed me. Richard was weird. He was a weird man.

"Fetch puppy!" Adriana yelled, throwing the blue ball again. Richard barked and went after the ball. On all fours. He picked up the ball with his mouth(the girls complained when he tried to pick it up with his hands) and then crawled back.

"Good puppy!" Melissa said, petting his head.

"Adri, could you come here," Alice said from the other room. Adriana gave Bella the ball and left the living room.

"Fetch!" Bella said, throwing the ball again. This time it rolled under the sofa. Richard reached out to get it with his hand.

"No!" Melissa shouted. How was he supposed to get the ball? Melissa laid down on the floor and hit the ball out from under the sofa.

"Go get it," She said, standing up again. Alice and Adriana walked back into the room.

"I'm taking Adri out again," Alice said, walking to the door. Adriana followed her. They already had a nap(a short one) so I guessed it was fine.

"Bye bye," Adri said, walking out the door. Melissa and Bella paid no attention to it.

"Drop it puppy!" Bella said, trying to get the ball from Richard. Melissa stopped and looked at Edward and I. Oh no.

"Play?" she asked us. I shook my head. _'No...'_

"Kitty," Melissa said, pointing to me. That wass it, she was my least favorite now. She turned to Edward.

"Umm...Bella help," she said, turning to Bella. Bella looked over.

"Monkey?" she said. She was still trying to get the ball from Richard.

"Kitty," she said pointing to me, "Monkey," she finished pointing to Edward. She was looking at Edward, so I tried to leave the room.

"He's leaving!" Edward said, pointing to me. Damn, I was almost out of the room. _'Tattle-freaking-tale. I will get you back for this.' _Melissa grabbed my hand.

"Doubt it," Edward muttered. _'Don't be so sure.' _Melissa grabbed Edward's hand and pulled us to where Bella and Richard are playing. Melissa turned to us.

"Play," she said sternly. She reminded me of a tiger cub. Cute, yet you knew you shouldn't mess with it.

"This is just going to get worse as they get older," Edward stated.

"You said it," I replied, getting down on all fours.

* * *

"No!" Adriana said. It's dinnertime for the(we're guessing) half-human vampires. Melissa and Bella were eating their food, but Adriana was being fussy. Esme served them rice and beans. I was on the couch, reading. But watching the girls was more entertaining then a book.

"No!" Adriana said. She hadn't even tried it.

"Look, Melissa and Bella like it. Why don't you try it," Esme said. Adriana shook her head.

"No," she said. Esme held the spoon up.

"Try it. If you don't like it, I'll give you something else," Esme offered. Adriana glared at the spoon. Actually glared.

"Okay," she said. Esme fed her a little bit of it. Adriana ate it. Esme tried feeding her a little more. Adriana allowed it.

"Hey Eric. Look at this," Jasper said, coming into the living room.

* * *

"How do humans get so many things wrong?" I asked. Jasper was holding a book that claimed to have the true story behind the American Civil War. We didn't fight in it too much, but we still knew better than these book. And I could say with confidence, that half of the stuff in the book was false.

"It's one of life's mysteries," Jasper said. We went through the books we brought on this trip. Esme, Rosalie, and Alice washed the girls and put them to sleep. They fell asleep pretty quickly. I was a bit worried about taking them to the airport, but they did well.

"How do you think they came to be?" I asked Jasper. It was a question that has been eating away at me.

"The girls?" he asked. I nodded my head. He sighed.

"I have a few possibilities," Jasper said.

"Which are?" I prompt him.

"That a human girl got pregnant by a vampire is one," Jasper said. That sounded reasonable, but no way those three were related by blood.

"It would have to be times three. Those girls look too different to be siblings. They could be half-siblings," I commented. Jasper considered what I said.

"Yeah, it would. Another possibility was that someone took three babies, and exposed them to vampire venom in a way that didn't completely change them," Jasper said.

"The first choice seems more likely. Mostly because it's the simplest and it can explain the few similarities between them," I said.

"Yeah. But why?" Jasper replied. I shrugged.

"There's a lot of mess up people in the world. Vampire and human." I remarked.

"There's something else that worries me," Jasper said. I motioned for him to go on.

"Those girls have, for their age, very good memories. Meaning that they probably remember whoever took care of them before. Considering we found them in the middle of a forest, under weight, and with scars that had to be years old, it safe to say they were not good people," Jasper said. _'I think we all came to that conclusion.'_

"You worried they'll come after us?" I asked. Jasper slowly nodded.

"That, and that that will come back to haunt the girls when they get older," Jasper said. I was surprised it wasn't haunting them now.

"Why isn't it haunting them now? They can remember whatever it is that happened to them, but they don't seem that scared of new people. They accepted us pretty quickly, and ignored the humans completely," I comment. It's weird. They shouldn't be like that. Jasper shrugged.

"At first they were scared, but there was a strong amount of curiosity too. Except for when Adriana ran away, curiosity always won out over fright. The same emotions were present when we first took them downstairs. But after they saw that the humans had no interest in them, they lost interest in the humans," Jasper explained.

"That isn't exactly a good thing," I said.

"It isn't. I wouldn't be surprised if they grow up to be danger magnets, with how they ignore danger," Jasper remarked. I sighed.

"We have our work cut out for us," I told him.

**AN: Okay, shorter than usual. But I have an excuse. I'm leaving on a five day trip, so I wanted to finish this quickly before I left. I'm being my laptop with me. Any way, review please. Thank you for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Edited: 1/15/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Confident Child Syndrome**

**Melissa's POV**

_'Where to hide? Where to hide? There's no good places to hide! Oh, this sucks! Where can I hide?'_

"Ready or not, here I come!" _'Oh no!'_ I looked around quickly. There was no where I could hide! _'Wait, there!'_ I quickly hid, and tried to be quiet. He wasn't going to find me, not if I had anything to do with it. _'You are not going to find me! You there.'_

"I wonder if someone is hiding in here..." He was in the room! I looked around. I wondered if I could get over there without him seeing me... I had to try it! I crawled over slowly, dragging my knees and putting all my weight on my fingertips. I was silent as I moved, feeling very proud of myself. He was looking in the other direction, so I was safe.

"Well, you're not over here. Are you... under here!" He bent down and looked at my old hiding place. I was almost at the door; it was now or never. I made a run for base. These guys were good at finding, but I was good at running.

"Now where are you?" I was out the door. I could hear him behind me, so I thought fast. I jumped up on the sofa, ran across it, then jump off when he tried to make a grab at me. Before he could react to my movements, I run around and reached the table. Safe! I was safe! _'Take that Emmett! 5 to nothing! I am awesome. Completely awesome.'_

"I win! I win! I win!" I yelled. That was fun! I wanted to do it again! Edward told me to calm down, but I just stuck out my tongue at him. No words necessary. He was just mad that I beat him too. He was chasing me, but I slid under the piano. And he couldn't, because, you know, he was too big. So I was able to get to base.

"Alright Melissa. You're safe, again. I guess I'll just have to find Bella. I am not going to be it again!" Emmett exclaimed. Adriana already got to base. She was sitting down on the couch and was watching Emmett try to find Bella. I knew where she was. I saw her hide.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Emmett said. He was getting close to her hiding place. I could see Bella start to leave. Emmett wasn't looking that way. She crawled behind the sofa.

"Are you in here?" Emmett asked, looking at her older hiding place. Bella was crawling out from behind the sofa. She was on the side of it. Emmett was on the other side. I waved her over. Emmett wasn't looking!

Bella looked over and saw me. She glanced around and ran for it. Emmett tried to get her, but I stuck out my leg and tripped him up. What? Sisters needed to look out for each other! Plus, a few games ago, Bella helped me get to base by distracting Richard. I needed to return the favor. Fair was fair.

"Melissa!" Emmett yelled. He was not happy. I looked up with big eyes. My thumb went up to my mouth and I started biting on my nail. _'What did I do?'_

"Why did you trip me?" Emmett asked. _'To help Bella, duh.'_

"To help Bella," I told Him. _'Why else would I do it? Is there another reason?'_

"You can't do that," he said. He crossed his arms. So I crossed mine. I didn't know what else to do.

"Why not?" I asked. _'Why can't I?'_

"That's cheating!" Emmett said, pointing a finger at me. _'What's 'cheating'? Oh, who care! It makes no difference.'_

"So?" I asked, still copying him. I had to stop biting my nail to do it. This was fun.

"You can't do that!" Emmett said, throwing his hands up.

"Why not!" I said, doing the same thing. He looked madder, so I figured I should stop before I get in trouble. I looked around. Esme was entering the room. _'Perfect!'_ She didn't like it when someone yelled at us. I had an idea!

"You just can't!" Emmett yelled. I started to cry, big hot tear running down my face. I ran to Esme, with my hands out. I wrapped my arms around her legs.

"Emmett yelled at me!" I told her. I looked up at her with watery eyes. Esme gave Emmett a mean look. She set her hand on my head.

"Emmett!" She shouted. Now he was in trouble. I turned my head enough to see Emmett out the corner of my eye. Emmett looked upset and was glaring at me.

"Mom, she cheated!" Emmett said. _'Why do they call her 'mom'? Her name is Esme.'_

"She's a little girl, Emmett. Apologize," Esme told him. _'What's 'apol'- that word?'_

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Melissa," Emmett said. I smiled and wiped my eyes. Now we could play again

"Okay! You're it," I told him. Emmett didn't look happy about that. _'Melissa: 6 Emmett: 0'_

* * *

"Come on Bella, lunch time," Edward told her. Rosalie told us it was lunch time, so I stopped painting to eat. I liked paints. There were a lot of colors. Esme washed all the paint off my hands and sat me down to eat. It was little pieces of 'chicken', carrots, and 'grapes'. But the grapes were cut up.

"No!" Bella said. She was lying on the floor, looking at a really big book. It didn't have a lot of pictures. She was just moving the pages. I wondered where she got it.

"Aren't you hungry?" Edward asked. Bella shook her head. Well, I was. I liked chicken. And grapes. Carrots not so much. I picked up more of the chicken. It had stuff on it. It was kinda sweet, but not really. I liked it.

"Alright. Just tell me when you are," Edward said. He left Bella alone to play with the book. I guessed he didn't want to be like Richard. I didn't get how they didn't get hungry. Even when I ate a lot, I always got hungry again later._ 'I should ask. I'll do it later. ' _I was too busy eating to ask.

'_What's that? Smells like cookies! Gimme! Gimme!'_

"Coo-kie!" I shouted. Esme was bring them in. I reached out for one. Or two. Or all of them. I wondered if I could steal the plate.

"Only one," Esme said. _'Yeah right. Want are you gonna do?'_ I almost finished all my food, but Adriana wasn't even halfway done. I was going to take as many cookies as I could before Adriana finished. When no one was looking, I took three cookies and put them in my lap. I took a fourth one and started eating it.

When Esme looked over, she gave me a look and shook her head. _'I think she knows... How though? Well, she didn't yell at me, so I don't care. Bella better eat soon, or she won't get a cookie.'_

* * *

"Can you put this over there?" Alice asked. I took the clothes out of her hand and put it in one of the boxes. Everyone was cleaning up their stuff and putting it in these box like things. Adriana was helping, but she went to take a nap. I wasn't tired yet, so I was helping. Bella was finally eating.

"Why?" I asked. I kept grabbing clothes from the 'bed' and putting it in the box-like things. Alice looked at me. I stopped at her bed and rested my head on my arms.

"Why what? Why we're putting these away?" Alice asked. I nodded my head. Alice folded some more clothes.

"We're going somewhere. And we need to take these things, so we put them in suitcases to move," Alice said. _'Where are we going?'_

"Where going?" I ask. I pick up some more clothes. Alice put some of her clothes in the box thing.

"We're going home," Alice said. I nodded slowly and cocked my head. _'What's home?'_

"What home?" I asked, grabbing another thing. I took it back to the box. Alice stopped and looked at me. She looked surprised.

"You don't know what home is," Alice said. I nodded my head._ 'What? Is that bad? I don't know a lot of things.'_ Alice let out a breath and then looked at me.

"Home is... it's where you live. Where you sleep, where you eat, and where you have fun. Where all your stuff is. Where the people you care about are there. I... don't know how to explain it. Do you understand?" Alice said. _'That's a lot of things. A home sounds nice. Am I going too?'_

"Am I going?" I asked Alice, walking back to the bed. She laughed then came over and picked me up. I squealed and laughed. I loved being picked up!

"Of course you are! And Adriana and Bella," Alice said. _'Good.' _Alice put me down on the 'bed' and continued putting away clothes. I watched for a while. There looked around the room. Then watched her again. Then looked around again.

"Sleepy?" Alice asked, when I yawned and rubbed my eyes. I nodded. I was getting a little tried and sleepy.

"Take a nap," Alice said. Nodding, I laid down and closed my eyes.

* * *

"Eric, could you pack some snacks for the girls? I need to dress Melissa," Esme said to Eric. Eric nodded and walked away. We did something different today; we got a bathe before 'dinner'. 'Dinner' was the last time we eat and we always take a bath after dinner. Then they change us into pajamas, and we go to sleep. But not today.

Today, we were taking baths early. And they were putting different clothes on us. Clothes to go out. Rosalie already dressed Bella; she was putting on Bella's shoes last time I checked. I just finished my bath. It was short. They took out all the 'suitcases' and put them in the room where we play.

"So, which dress honey?" Esme asked. She was holding a bunch of dresses. The pink one was too bright; I didn't like it. The green one was too plain. The white and purple one was nice. It had little purple circles and the bottom part was kinda poofy. It also had a purple line separating the top and bottom part. I pointed to that one.

"Are you sure?" Esme asked. I nodded my head. Esme put the dress and a diaper on me. Then she put something white over my feet. Then my shoes. She let me go, so I went to find Bella. None of the toys were out. They put them in a suitcase. The only toys they left out was Bella's and Adriana's teddy bears, and my doggie.

"The taxi is almost here," Alice said. She was taking Adriana into her room. I just watched all of them. Eric went into another room, so I couldn't see him. Alice was in her room. Edward and Jasper were near the door, looking at the suitcases. Esme was still in her room. Carlisle was looking at something. I wondered what.

I walked over to him. I tried to pull down the white thing in his hands, so I could look at it. Carlisle put it down and picked me up. I liked being picked up; it was cool to see things from up here.

"Hey sweetie. Bored?" Carlisle asked. I nodded my head. I had no toys and no one wanted to play. They were all doing something or were in one of the rooms.

"Well, we're going on a trip soon," Carlisle said. _'What's a trip?'_

"Trip?" I ask. Carlisle moved across the room and gave the white thing to Esme, who I just noticed came in. _'Hi Esme.'_

"Yes. We're going somewhere, remember?" Carlisle asked. _'Oh yeah, we're going home.'_ I nodded.

"Home," I said. Carlisle smiled. Richard came out of one of the rooms.

"I finished packing. Are the taxis here yet?" Richard asked. He put some more suitcase down. _'How many are there?'_

"Not yet," Edward said. Carlisle tried to put me down, but I yelled. _'No!'_ I wanted be carried. I liked Carlisle; he looked nice. Well, they all looked nice, but he... it was different.

"So, who is going to ride with who?" Alice asked. Adri was with her. That was a pretty dress. Eric came into the room holding another suitcase.

"Why not let the girls decide first?" Carlisle suggested. Alice shrugged, and then Carlisle looked at me.

"Melissa, do you remember what a car is?" He asked. I nodded.

"Remember how only two people rode with you," Carlisle asked. _'Two?'_

"Two?" I asked. Carlisle held up two fingers.

"Two," he said. I held up two fingers. _'So, 'two' is two.'_

"Now, I need you to pick two people you want to ride with," Carlisle said. I looked at him. So I had to pick two people. _'Why? What does he mean by 'ride with'? Well, he mentioned a car. Does he mean they going to get in the car with me?I think that's what he means. On that case, who should I pick?'_

I felt like having Carlisle keep carrying me. I didn't know why; I just did. So him. That was one. I was pretty sure Bella was going to want to pick Edward, so him no. Adri was going to want Alice, so she was no. Rosalie and Emmett looked really close, I think they want to ride together. He had his arm around her. So, them no. I looked around. I liked Esme. I picked her too.

"You," I said, pointing to Carlisle. He laughed a little and looked happy. Then I pointed to Esme.

"Esme," I said. She looked happy too. Bella was standing on the sofa, looking at us. Adri was near Alice. Carlisle looked at Bella.

"Your turn," Carlisle said. Bella looked around, turning around to get a good look. She pointed to Edward. _'I knew it! I was right. Go me.'_

"Edward," Bella said. Then she looked around again. Then she pointed to Richard.

"Richard," she said. Edward didn't look happy about that. He didn't seem to really like Richard much. I didn't know why; Richard was funny. Carlisle looked at Adriana. She was holding Alice's hand. I thought that choice was obvious.

"Ally!" Adriana shouted. I knew it. Like I thought, obvious. Adri really liked Alice. Alice was stealing my sister. _'I need to do something about that... later.'_

"And who else?" Carlisle asked. Adri shrugged. Aw, she didn't know who else to pick. _'Just close your eyes and point.'_

"How about Jasper?" Alice asked. Adriana nodded. She didn't care, as long as Alice rides with her. I could so tell from how she answered.

"That leaves Rosalie, Emmett, and Eric to ride together. Everyone okay with this?" Carlisle asked. Some of them nodded, and the rest said 'yes'. Eric didn't look too happy. I should have asked him to ride with me. It was too later now.

"The taxis are here," Edward said. _'Are we leaving now? They look like we're leaving. I think we're leaving.'_

"Let's go," Carlisle said. He started leaving. _'I was right! I am so awesome.' _

"Wait! Doggie," I shouted, pointing around Carlisle to my toy. I left my doggie on the floor. I didn't want to lose it. Esme picked it up and gave it to me. I hugged it and thought, _'Okay, we can leave.'_

* * *

_'This isn't very good.'_ I didn't like this food. It was gross. Esme said that we were in an 'airport', and we were going to ride on an 'airplane', but we had to eat first. But this food was yucky. It was gross. I didn't like it. I didn't want to eat it.

"Yucky," I told Esme. _'I don't want it. Don't make me!'_

"Just eat a little more, and then you're done," Esme said. _'No! I'm not going to eat.' _I pushed the plate away, but I pushed too hard. It fell to the floor. _'Oppsie...'_ I smiled weakly at Esme. I didn't mean to make a mess.

"Hey lady! I know you're going to pick that up," some man said. I looked around the airport. There was a lot of people. A lot. More then I could count! Bella and Adri left already, I didn't know where they went. They were somewhere else with everyone else. This food was really yucky, I didn't want to eat it. So I had to stay behind until I ate enough.

"I was just about to," Esme told him. I was bored. I watched Esme get up and walk toward the plate. It made a big mess. I should have helped her.

"Get to work women," the man said. I didn't like his tone. It was too angry for my taste. Esme looked mad. _'He better stop, so he's going to regret it. Esme isn't someone to mess with. She's tough.'_

"I don't appreciate your tone," Esme said. I looked around again. I was bored with this conversation. _'Hey, what's that?'_ I got down, quietly, and start walking away. Esme was still talking to that very rude man, so she didn't notice me leave. She talking all low and scary. I didn't want to be that guy. _'I'll just look around a little then come back. '_

* * *

_'Ow!'_ Stupid people. They kept pushing me to the floor. I tried finding Esme again, but I couldn't. I was scared. I didn't know any of the people here. I wiped my eyes and got back on my feet. I was not going to cry. No, I was not.

I kept walking around. This was a new place I didn't see walking in. I couldn't find any of them. I wanted my sisters! I kept walking around. I stayed away from the strangers. I didn't like being surrounded by so many strangers.

I looked around for anyone I knew. I could hear some loud noises from outside. They scared me. Everyone scared me. I kept looking. For Adriana, Bella, Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, Richard, Edward, Eric, Jasper- anyone! I couldn't find any of them. I didn't like it in here. Too many strangers!

There was a door leading outside. I going to go outside and calm down, and then try to find someone. Maybe if I calm down a little, it'll be easier.

I didn't go too far away from the door. I didn't want get to lost again. The outside was mostly trees and grass. There was some weird looking gray things. They made all the noises. There was people walking around, but they were to far to bother me. I watched for a little. The noises bothered me, but I ignored it the best I could.

I stepped a little closer to the door. I felt better now. I sat down and just watched for a little. _'Maybe if I wait long enough, they'll find me.' _I played with my dress for a little. I heard footsteps, so I looked up. I saw some dirty looking man walk up. He smelled funny. I crinkled my nose.

" 'Ello there... pre-tty girl. What's your name?" The man talked funny. And fell. On the floor. He didn't trip. I didn't like him. He looked dirty. He needed a bath. I wanted to get away from him. I stood up and walked away. He said something, but I ignored him.

I opened the door and slipped back in.

* * *

"Hey there little girl, where are your parents?" Some lady asked. I looked up at the voice. The lady looked nice, so I didn't leave. I just shook my head, because I didn't know what parents were. I hastily wiped my eyes, trying to stop my tears. I was hiccuping.

I could find anyone, so I just sat down. I sat down and stayed in the same place. I didn't move from that place. I hoped one of them would find me soon. I didn't like being alone. It's scary.

"Come on, let's find them," the lady said. She held out her hand. _'I don't know you.'_ I didn't grab her hand. I didn't know her. I didn't trust her. _'Go away.'_

"Alright, can you get up?" the lady asked. I slowly got up. I didn't trust her, but the floor my hurting my butt. The lady pushed on my back a little, so I started walking. I followed her for a while. I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted someone I knew.

"Melissa!" I looked up. _'Esme!_' She picked me up. I hugged her really really hard. _'Yay!'_

"Thank you," Esme told-I guess- the lady. I had my face hidden in her shoulder. I refused to move.

"You're welcome. I know how hard it can be to keep track of children; my son has gotten away from me dozens of times." the lady said. I shifted in Esme's arms to get more comfortable.

"I should go; our plane is about to leave," Esme said. She started to walk away. I finally stopped moving and laid my head on her shoulder. I closed my eyes and relaxed.

* * *

_'What? What's happening?'_ I opened my eyes. Esme was putting me in a chair. I guessed I fell asleep. I was still tired. I moved and tried to get more comfortable. I looked around. Eric was nearby.

"Hey, sleepy?" Eric said, in a soft voice. I nodded. He smiled at me.

"I hope you learned your lesson about running away," he said. I nodded. I was not going to do it again. Ever. Ever, ever.

"Go to sleep," he said. _'Okay. This looks boring anyway'_ I closed my eyes and let my head fall back on the chair. After fidgeting to get comfortable, I fell asleep with my head leaning on Eric.

**AN: And that's Chapter Thirteen. Review please. **


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:**** 2/25/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd-numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even-numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Pain Ride**

**Emmett's POV**

"Melissa calm down," Esme told her, picking her up again. The girls were very...uh frankly annoying now. This plane ride was smoother than the others we've been on, but the girls still had a hard time falling and staying asleep. Result: very irritated and annoying two-year-old's.

I loved the girls; they were fun. As soon as they understood English more, I was sure I could use them in a prank. I liked having them around. Plus, taking care of them makes Rosalie and Esme happy. But now, I wished they would shut up. Adriana wouldn't stop crying and squirming. Even Bella started throwing a tantrum when we put her down.

"And we still have another six-hour plane ride to look forward too," Edward said, grabbing some of our luggage from the baggage claim. I picked some of it up too. Our plane landed in New York City. We had an hour until we boarded the plane that will take us to Fairbanks, Alaska. It would take about six hours, with all things considered.

"At least they're acting like normal human two-year-old's," Richard pointed out. It was true. _'I think they're too tired to move faster than human speed.'_

We went over to the counter, so we could pack our luggage on the plane. The airport workers checked the luggage and our tickets. Esme, Alice, and Edward took the girls to get breakfast. Rose tagged along.

Once we put our baggage in the cargo area of the plane, the rest of us headed over to the cafe area.

"No!" Adriana shouted, hitting the spoon away. Of course, she hadn't knocked it out of her hands or anything.

"Adri, just try to eat," Esme told her. She shook her head and hit the table.

"No!" '_Wow. Little girl, bug voice.'_ Melissa and Bella weren't really eating either. Bella had her head down, probably trying to sleep. Melissa was grabbing the food from the spoon and throwing it away. It looked like oatmeal, sort of. It smelled disgusting.

Edward woke Bella up, and tried to feed her. After they eat a reasonable amount(45 minutes later), the girls fell asleep in the arms of whoever was carrying them. Richard, at Adriana's insistence, picked her up. Edward was still carrying Bella, and Esme was still carrying Melissa. _'15 minutes until we board another plane. I can't wait to get back home.'_

* * *

"Teddy bear!" Adri exclaimed. Adriana threw it. _'Why? Who knows.'_ Rosalie snugged more into my side and sighed.

Esme, Carlisle, and Adriana were sitting behind me. Rosalie was to my left, and a stranger was to my right. Edward was sitting with Bella and Richard on the other side of the aisle. Alice, Jasper, and Melissa were sitting together behind Esme and Carlisle. Eric was sitting next to two humans on the other side.

"Excuse me sir, could you hand me that toy?" Esme asked the man sitting in front of Adriana. The man smiled and nodded, leaning down to get it. Esme thanked him, and gave the toy to Adriana. She calmed down instantly. I was surprised none of the humans complained about them. This was the first time all three of them were quiet.

"Cute child. Is she yours?" the man asked.

"No. She's my cousin," Esme said. It was the easiest explanation we could come up with.

"What's her name?" the man asked.

"Adriana," Esme told him. I felt something soft hit my head. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, before turning to look at Adriana. She was staring at the floor with empty hands.

I shake my head and pick up the bear from the floor. This is the 15th time she's thrown something at me. I handed it back and returned my attention to my wife. A lot of us were going to have to go hunting after this.

"She sure is cranky," the man commented. _'Understatement.'_

"Didn't get a good night's sleep," Esme informed him. Adriana threw her toy again. I glared at her, as I return the stupid toy.

"I'm Dan Smith," the man said.

"Esme Cullen," Esme said shaking his hand. _'Damn it Adri! Stop aiming for my head. Aim for Edwards head.'_

"Here Adri," Edward said, handing her a bag of peanuts. _'Really Edward? Really?'_

"Mom," I say turning around, "make her stop." Adriana was throwing peanuts. _'Why doesn't she stop this?'_

"Adri," Esme started. The throwing stopped, but crying soon followed. I sighed. _'Can't win, can I?'_

"Give her back the peanuts," I say. I prefered that to crying.

* * *

"Down! Down!" Bella demanded. She was pulling on her seat belt. Adriana fell asleep a while ago. So Bella decided she was the difficult child now.

"Bella-" Edward started. Bella screamed. _'Oh, that's loud. Didn't know she had it in her. '_ Edward looks over at all of us. _'I don't know what to tell you. You can't set her down. Find something shiny to distract her.'_

"Hey Bella, look at the pictures," Edward said, taking out a book from one of the bags we packed for the girls.

"No!" Bella said. Her grabbed the book and threw it to the floor. What was it with them and throwing things on airplanes?

Edward picked up the book, just to have her hit it down again. He picked it up again, same thing happened. _'At least she's being quiet.'_

* * *

"No." Melissa said. Alice had kept her busy with paper and crayons. She wanted a new crayon, but didn't know her colors. So, Alice was showing her every crayon. At first she'd get upset when Alice couldn't give her the right color, but now she didn't seem to mind. It was kinda entertaining to watch the trial and error.

"No."

"No."

"No."

"No."

"No." Alice put down the crayon. She looked annoyed. She set the pack of 64 crayons down.

"That's all the crayons," Alice said. Melissa just smiled and asked for a crayon again. Alice picked up a crayon again. A red one.

"That one," Melissa said. Alice handed it to her with a tight smile.

"That was the first crayon I showed you," Alice said. Melissa's did that four times. The exact same pattern. Melissa continued drawing.

"I know," Melissa said. I loved that kid.

"New one," Melissa said, handing the crayon back. What was she even drawing? Alice held up a blue crayon.

"No."

* * *

"Melissa, what are you drawing?" Alice asked. She was looking at the paper. Melissa held it up. It looked like a blob of colors. It faintly resembled a person whose head was on fire.

"Adri!" Melissa answered happily. At least she was trying.

"How nice. Are you done?" Alice asked. Melissa nodded and handed the paper to Alice. Alice gave her a new paper. Melissa stared at it for a while, before handing her crayon to Alice.

"New one," she said.

* * *

"Finally, we're almost home." I exclaimed. The plane ride was over and all that was left was the car ride home. And the girls were asleep. Thank God.

"Emmett! Go get some of the luggage. The faster we can get our stuff the faster we can leave," Rosalie said. She took Melissa from Alice's hands, so Alice could get the taxis.

"Wha?" Melissa woke up a little. Rosalie rocked her a bit.

"Go back to sleep," Rosalie said. Melissa laid her head down again. I grabbed some of the luggage. This would be faster if we didn't need to pretend to be human.

"Let's go," I told everyone. I really wanted to leave.

"What do you think the girls will say when they see the house?" I asked Eric. He shrugged.

"I have no idea. But seeing their faces will be fun," he answered._ 'Yeah, I guess. I wonder if I can trick them into helping me with a prank. I could make it into a game. Those girls love games.'_

"Stop talking, and put the luggage away." Alice commanded. _'Calm down pixie.'_

"Alright," I told her. I finished loading in the bags.

* * *

"Big," Melissa said, after a few seconds of thought. I asked her what she thought of our home.

"Just big?" I asked her. She looked around and shrugged.

"Big," she stated. Compared to the hotel suite, it wass big. We had nine people living here, we needed room. Our next house might be even larger, considering we have 12 people now. Even if we all didn't need a room, it was nice to have a space to call your own.

"Here! Where you going?" I asked her. She started to run away. Bella and Adri were eating still.

She ran into the music room. It held Edward's piano, Jasper's guitar, and a few other instruments we kept. She slowed down and looked around. She walked to a violin and started plucking the strings.

"Don't do that. You might break the strings," I told her, moving her hand away. She pointed to it.

"What?" She asked. I smiled at her.

"It's a violin," I told her. She looked back at it.

"Come on, want to see the rest of the house?" I asked her. She nodded her head and grabbed my hand.

"Well, this is the music room," I started. I walked away into one of the other rooms.

* * *

"This is the game room," I told the girls. Awhile ago, Bella and Adriana joined in.

"Toys," Adriana said, running toward the train set Richard had set up here. The other two walked up to some of the other things we have here, mostly model planes, trains, and cars. We have a movie projector in the corner.

They seemed distracted, so I sneaked away to see my Rosie. Our room wasn't too far away from here.

"Hey honey," I told her, wrapping my arms around her. It was nice to spend time with her.

"Hey," she turned around in my arms and gave me a quick kiss. _'Aww... Is that it?'_

"You really shouldn't have left the girls alone," Rosalie said. I shrugged.

"I don't own anything in there," I answered.

* * *

"Melissa! Give that back!" Richard yelled, chasing the blue-eyed toddler. She grabbed one of his train cars when he wasn't looking. Been playing keep away for five minutes now.

Rosalie and I came downstairs about 15 minutes ago. Right now we were listening to a radio program. Alice and Jasper were upstairs in their room. Edward and Eric were in the living room with us, and Esme and Carlisle were in the kitchen. Esme was making the girls dinner.

"No! Never!" she yelled back. She slid under a table and continued on. We really shouldn't have left her in socks. Though, I was surprised she hadn't fallen yet.

She ran over to Adri and handed her the train car. Richard started chasing her and Melissa went back upstairs. I put my attention back to the radio program. It was called the Ugliest Man in the World.

"Paul: Get away (IN LOW SEMI-MONOTONE) Yeah, got away... good and far away... fields... grain... a farm... they didn't care what kind of face... just work hard ... work... work... work, hour after hour, sweat salt on my lips, work, keep working, you don't think when you work, hour after hour, day after day! The sun over the fields frying your brain... EXULTANTLY and I couldn't think, I couldn't think it was good I couldn't think! But I'm thinking now... gun in my hand... stop that thinking... gun in my hand... no! Got to think out my life... think it out clearly... Think of that day ... she waved at me..."

"Emmie," Melissa whispered. _'I'm going to let that nickname go.'_ She had two train cars in her hands. I shook my head. Aside from his movie projector, these trains were his prize possession. She handed the train cars to me.

"Hide," she whispered. Richard was too busy chasing Adriana to pay attention to this. Plus, Adriana was making a lot of noise, mostly shouting and squealing. I took the train cars and hid it behind the cushions on the sofa.

Melissa went back upstairs, this time taking Bella with her. I heard Melissa whisper Alice's name from upstairs. Of course, I was paying attention to her. Between the radio, Adriana, and Melissa's volume, you had to pay close attention to hear her. I turned back to the radio.

"Paul: So she waved at me ... and I waved back ... and soon I was waiting for that moment in the day when she'd pass in the distance and her arm would lift toward me... I waited for that ... just waited... Then I was thinking about her all the time... I had so much time to think in my loneliness! What did she look like... what did she look like? I... I don't remember how... in spite of myself one day I was hiding in the grain at the edge of the road-waiting-for her..."

"Rosie," Melissa whispered. This time she was carrying five train cars. She handed two to Rose and gave two to Eric, who was sitting in a chair. She gave the last one to Edward. She tiptoed back upstairs. How was Richard missing this? I looked over at him. Adriana was good at keep away.

I turned back to the radio program.

"Girl: (LOVINGLY) Paul...

Paul: Do you know me now?

Girl: You're the only one I've wanted to be with me...

Paul: Do you know me now?

Girl: You know so little about me to ask me that...

Paul: You're ... lovely...

Girl: My family... why I came to live out here alone...

Paul: So very lovely...

Girl: Paul... Paul, listen to me! I know you now better than I could if my eyes were open and twice as wise as they ever could have been!

Paul: You're lovely...

Girl: And so are you...

Paul: (SLOWLY) You've never seen me...

Girl: When people have talked together as much as you and I ... every little hope and hurt, dream and plan ... don't they know more than if they looked at faces? And what do you look like, Paul?

Paul:I...

Girl: No, let me guess! I've sat here in the dark and seen your face so many times before me!"

"Eddie," Melissa whispered. She handed him two more train cars, before hiding the rest under the sofa. When she climbed back to her feet, she walked into the kitchen. Bella and she left the kitchen a few seconds later. Melissa gave Adriana a thumbs up, and Adriana 'tripped'. She dropped the train car on the floor.

"Yes! Finally!" Richard said, grabbing the train car. He ran back upstairs, probably to put it away. 5...4...3...2...1...

"Ahh!" There was the scream. I had to give it to these girls. They were good. And they have the element of surprise. You wouldn't expect a two-year-old to pull this of on a vampire.

"Where are my trains!" Richard demanded. He walked into the living room. Melissa and Bella were hiding in the kitchen. Adriana was picking herself of the floor.

"What makes you think we know?" I asked, "None of us have moved from the living room." Richard looked angrier. He lingered for a bit, before running upstairs. I could hear him approach Jasper's and Alice's room and then promptly turn around when Jasper threatens him. You didn't approach Alice angry.

He ran back downstairs.

"Who took my trains?" he asked angrily. Adriana walked over to us and looked at Richard.

"What?" she asked. She looked at all of us inquisitively.

"Some took Richard's trains. Now he's angry." I told her. Adriana looked at him. Then back at us.

"Hungry," she stated. I pointed to the kitchen and she walked away.

"Seriously! Where are my trains?"

* * *

After Adri, Bella, and Melissa finished eating and took a bath, Melissa grabbed a train toy from under the sofa and handed it to Richard with the command 'find them'. Then she went upstairs for bed time.

"Wait... She hid my trains?" Richard said incredulously. I nodded and pat him on the back.

"We have our hands full with these girls." I told him. I left to go spend time with my Rose.

It really was good to be home.

**AN: Review please!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Edited: 1/17/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**To WolfScale3857: I love that you love my story. I understand how you would think that situation is awkward. But can't love be awkward? I don't even know for sure what I'm gonna do... too many ideas. As for their connection to the Volturi... It might not be in the way you expect.**

**To lightbabe: The girls are older then they look. It's only natural they be smarter too. Thank you for loving my story, and please continue reviewing. It makes my day. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Childish Behavior**

**Richard's POV**

"So, how long are we staying here," I asked Edward. We just arrived at our new house. Esme and Carlisle had been coming over to unpack certain things(furniture, Edward's piano, and the girls stuff), but today the rest of us were unpacking. We were officially moving in today.

"Eight, nine years," Edward guessed, grabbing his own stuff out of the car. I rode with him since I still didn't have my own car. I wanted one, but I just never got around to buying one.

We were able to sell the old house within three weeks of arriving home. Our new home was in British Columbia, near the rocky mountains. Had a lot of good game in that area. The house was pretty big, seven rooms. We left shortly after the girl's breakfast. Adriana and Melissa rode with Carlisle and Esme, while Bella rode with Edward and me. Eric rode with Alice and Jasper, and Rosalie and Emmett rode together, like always.

Adriana, Bella, and Melissa-as far as we know- have never had a room. An actual room to call their own. So Esme really wanted to makes this one special. Since the girls didn't particularly like sleeping alone, and this way we didn't have to look for a bigger house, we put them together. In one room. There was just one problem with that.

There was three different personalities sharing one room. An overactive redhead, who liked annoyingly bright colors and left toys everywhere. A shy and quiet brunette who preferred cool, calm colors and was neat for her age. And then there was the seemingly sweet blue-eyes, who you should never turn your back on.

Although, she was a bit better now. At first, we all let her get away with things. She was in a new place with new people after all. Didn't want to scare her. So she wasn't punished for hiding my precious trains car that cost a small fortune. Alright, so she didn't break anything, they were perfectly fine. So I guess it was okay. In hindsight, it was harmless.

However, getting scissors and cutting up half of Alice's wardrobe was another matter. Completely. I don't know how she got passed Alice, but she did and I had to give her props. Alice freaked out! If you saw her face, you would think the world was ending. That Jasper was dead. If you saw her closet, you would think a war passed through it. It was that bad. Of course, Esme and Carlisle couldn't leave that alone. That was going to far. Melissa needed to learn boundaries, especially the ones concerning Alice's wardrobe.

The punishment did not fit the crime. She only got a twenty minute timeout. If it was me, I would have been ground for a year. Then again, I wouldn't have been able to do it in the first place. After her time out, she seemed very apologetic. Went straight to Alice and apologized. She hadn't done anything since. That we knew of. But I knew she was just waiting. Unlike Adriana, she didn't do things on impulse. She thought them though with an intelligence she shouldn't have. And with a vindictiveness that kinda scared me. _'That little girl is scary. She's like a... like a snake in the grass. But without the venom. Her bite still hurts like hell, though.'_

"That's a really... accurate why to put it," Edward commented. _'Stop eavesdropping. It's annoying.'_

"That would imply I'm trying to hear your thoughts. If I could, I would stop," Edward replied. _'Whatever.'_

"It's weird. Despite how she looks, she doesn't act two," I said, grabbing my bags and running to my room. Edward stayed back for a second to close the trunk. Our house was nice and far from any humans, so no need to hide.

"Who doesn't act two?" Alice asked, inviting herself to our conversation. Nosy little sprite.

"Shouldn't you be unpacking upstairs?" I asked her. The couples got the second floor. Not completely sure how we got to that, but that was the arrangement. Edward and I had the two rooms on the first floor, and the girls and Eric have the third floor to themselves. I felt bad for Eric, his hall mates had no sense of privacy.

"Jasper's doing it for me. Who were you talking about?" Alice asked. I unceremoniously dropped my bags and started unpacking.

"Melissa," I answered her, putting away my underwear.

"Ah... Well, it's not like she's the only one. They all do at some point," Alice commented. I nodded in agreement, still unpacking. _'True. But she does it the most.'_

"It's really weird sometimes. One minute, they playing and giggling like toddlers. Running around, doing things that no one understands but them. But then you say something they shouldn't understand, shouldn't be able to figure, and you realize we have no idea how old they really are. None. I mean... How old do you think they are?" I said. Alice thought for awhile, eyebrows burrowed in thought. But then she shruged.

"The only people who can answer that don't know what a day is. We might never really know," Alice responded.

"Maybe when they're older they can tell us," I suggested offhandedly. Alice shook her head.

"I feel that they would rather forget their past, then remember it," Alice said. I looked up from my stuff and gave her most of my attention.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. She started walking, well pacing, around the room.

"Haven't you noticed they don't talk at all about their past? Not a word! And you can't blame their age, they're very articulate now. They don't mention any kind of family or mother or father, nothing! They never mention anything, even if we ask them directly. It's like... like they're trying to act like none of it ever happened,. And the weird part is I think it's working," Alice explained. I thought over what she said. She had a point; they didn't act like they were affected by their past.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"I guess not. According to Jasper, they're comfortable here. With us, in the presences of humans, wherever. As long as it stays that way, why open up old wounds? What would be the point?" Alice replied. I considered her words.

"You never answered. How old do you think they are?" I asked her again. Shortly after, I heard the sound of high-pitched giggles getting closer.

"Ally! Ally! Where are you?" Adriana yelled. Alice smiled and started walking out, but before she left, she turned around.

"As far as I'm concerned, they're two," Alice said, leaving my room. I chuckled and finish unpacking.

* * *

"Your room?" Bella asked, popping her head in. I finished unpacking a long time ago. After having everyone(me included) freak out over the stuff we were missing_(it's Melissa, I know it)_, I decided to wait it out in my room. _'When she gets bored, she'll show us where she hid our stuff.'_

"Yep. Did you finish your lunch?" I asked her. She nodded her head while she took a step in and looked around.

"Wanna play?" She asked, looking back at me after inspecting my room. _'Why not?'_

"Sure. How about we play 'finding other people's stuff'? All you have to do is find lost stuff; it'll be fun. How about we start with my movies?" I suggested. She smiled at me, like she knew what I was trying, and failing, to do.

"How about we play horsie?" she asked. _'Yeah, didn't think that will work.'_ I stood up and turn around, then crouch down so she could climb on. Once her arms were securely around my neck, I started running around the house.

"Faster horsie! Faster!" Bella shouted. When I sped up, she squealed and tighten her arms. All of us at some point had done this, so the embarrassment was dead. At least, I thought so at first. Thinking harder, I realized I had never seen Edward play horsie. Ever. I slowed down a little.

"Hey Bella, have you ever played horsie with Edward?" I asked her. I heard something crash in the kitchen.

"No," Bella said, starting to sound mad, "Down!" I put her down. She was frowning and laid her hands on her hips.

"Edward!" she called. He didn't answer, which just made Bella madder.

"Edward!" Bella yelled again. She crossed her arms and reminded me of an angry kitten.

"Edward! Come now!" Bella sounded down right furious. Edward finally walked into the living room.

"Yes," he said. _'You had to know that eventually this was going to happen.'_

"Horsie!" Bella demanded in her little girl way. Edward sighed.

"Do I have to?" Edward asked. Bella nodded once. I tried to hide my smile at her attitude. This little girl had a 6'2'' vampire defeated. That was funny.

"Hey Bella!" I said, getting her attention. She just climbed on Edward's back.

"Did you know Edward iss the fastest here?" I ask her. Her face lighted up. She loved to go fast.

"You might want to go outside, so you can run full speed," I told Edward.

"Outside! Outside!" Bella shouted. _'Have fun!'_

* * *

"Hey Melissa!" I said, walking into the kitchen. She was sitting on the floor, playing with blocks.

"Hi Richard! Are you gonna ask me about your movies?" Melissa asked, cocking her head. She looked smug. I was amazed at how much her vocabulary had improved.

"I wasn't. But now that you mentioned it," I said. Melissa smiled at me.

"Play Hot-Warm-Cold?" She asked. It was something.

"Sure," I told her. I started looking in the cabinets.

"You're so cold you have frostbite," Melissa informed me. She needed to spend less time with Carlisle, that was too doctory.

"You need to spend less time with Carlisle," I told her. She giggled at my words and followed me into the living room.

"Warmer," Melissa said, walking behind me. I moved around the room. Finally, I move toward the stairs.

"Warmer," Melissa said. I walked up the stairs and entered Esme and Carlisle's room. Melissa said colder, so I moved out of the room. On a hunch, I moved toward the stairs again.

"Warmer," Melissa told me. I walked up the stairs. _'Third floor: Melissa's room, Eric's room, and a rec room. Where would Melissa hide something?'_ Her room was too obvious; she was smarter than that. The rec room was clean, and it didn't look like anything got moved. That left Eric's room.

"Hey Eric." I said, opening the door. Eric looked up from the paper he was reading and filling out. He was sitting over at his desk, which looked like a mess.

"Yeah," Eric said. I looked around his room.

"Has Melissa been in here today?" I asked him, taking note of the silent little girl who was watching me from the door.

"Yeah, earlier this morning. Before Esme showed Melissa her room," Eric informed me. I raised an eyebrow.

"And when our stuff went missing, you didn't feel like telling anyone," I said. Eric shrugged,and pointed to Melissa.

"She asked me not to. What was I to do?" Eric replied. Melissa walked over to his bed and climbed on. After laying down on her front, she smiled at me.

"You have everyone here wrapped around your little finger, don't you?" I asked her. She just continued smiling and rolled over onto her back.

"Gonna give me any hints?" I asked her.

"Nope!" She proudly stated. I shrugged. It was probably in the closet.

"Mind if I look around?" I asked Eric.

"Whatever," he answered. He went back to the paperwork. I turned to his closet and started rifling through the stuff on the floor. Let's see; a couple of Edward's compositions, some of Alice's fashion sketches, one of Alice's dress, two of Jasper's books, a few of Esme's painting. No movies.

"Find your stuff?" Eric asked, not looking up.

:No," I told him. I walked over to him.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He showed me the papers.

"Alice wanted to try her hand at running a clothing store. She asked me to fill out her paperwork, since I have experience in this," Eric told me. _'Ah.'_

"She's finally trying it. Nice," I commented, turning away. I was going to ask Melissa for a clue, but then I noticed she seemed a bit tired. I walked over to her.

"Sleepy?" I asked her. She rubbed her eyes and nodded. I picked her up and carried her to her room.

"I love my room," Melissa told me sluggishly after we walked in.

"Really," I replied. I set her down on the bed she claimed this morning. After covering her with the blanket, I looked around the room. Esme really did a good job.

Esme painted the ceiling light blue, to look like the sky. One of the walls had a painting of a meadow, another had a waterfall and forest, and the third was a garden. The wall with the door looked like it was covered in vines.

She put in a vanity, chest, and two drawers along with the three toddler beds. It wasn't crowded, but there also wasn't a lot of room to play in here. It was a good thing that there was a nice open space on this floor for them. The rec room was all theirs to do whatever.

One of the beds had a pink bedding, which (according to Esme) Adriana enthusiastically claimed. Bella's bed was the white and purple one. Melissa picked the light and forest green one.

_'Well, that's enough of that. Time to keep looking for my movies.'_

* * *

"Come on Adri, time for a nap," Esme said, picking up the sleepy girl. Adriana was helping Esme pick up the mess Melissa left in the kitchen(the blocks). It was getting late in the afternoon, so it wasn't that surprising. Edward and Bella came back ten minutes ago. Bella wanted to take a nap.

The girls had so far really liked the house. Through Adriana may just be happy about getting her cast off. I was glad we didn't have to worry about her biting it off anymore. She really hated that cast. By the time it came off, it was covered in bite marks.

"So Richard, did you find your movies yet?" Alice asked._ 'No. And you know that.'_ I just gave Alice a look.

"You'll find them after Melissa wakes up," Alice told me. I started to smile, until I remembered something.

"I thought you couldn't see the girls?" I asked her. Alice rolled her eyes, like it was a stupid question.

"I can't see them directly. But I look around them, aka look for your reactions and the aftermath. It's almost the same thing," Alice informed me. _'Ah. In that case.'_

"Yes! Finally." I cheered. She, of course, laughed at me. _'Whatever.'_

* * *

I snuck up to the third floor. _'What the?'_

"What are you doing?" I asked her. The raven haired girl tensed up. I caught her red handed, with her hands in the toy chest. Why that was a bad thing, I had yet to find out. I walked over to her, watching her closely.

"Nothing!" She said quickly. Too quickly. I needed to teach her how to lie._ 'I'll teach her next month, that should be long enough for them to acquire a good reputation we can abuse. Edward don't say __anything about me corrupting them. You know that they have to learn how to lie._' Back to the matter at hand.

"Really? Can I look inside the chest?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No! It's mine, and I don't what you to!" she told me. She sat on top of the chest. I easily moved her aside.

"No! I said you couldn't! You can't! You can't! You can't!" Melissa yelled at me. I stepped back and threw my hands up in surrender. _'No need for a fit.'_ She didn't have the vocabulary of a two-year-old, but she had the emotional maturity of one.

"No touching!" she yelled at me. She glared at me for a few more minutes. Then she dropped her eyes, pouted, and walked over to the chest.

"Here!" she said, shoving my movies into my hands. _'Finally. Ah, don't look so sad.'_

"You want to watch it?" I asked her, trying to cheer her up. She looked up at me confused.

"What?" She asked. _'Did no one explain the concept of movies to her! This will not stand.'_

"Come on. Let's go to my room," I told her. I walked downstairs. Melissa naturally followed me.

"You know that projector I tell you not to touch, but you do anyway," I started.

"Yeah," She replied.

"Well, you use that projector to watch movies," I continued. We walked into my room. I sat her on my sofa(didn't want a bed). I moved the projector into place.

"But movies don't do anything. They just sit there. Why would you watch one?" Melissa asked. _'Poor naive Melissa.'_

"It isn't what the movie does, sweetheart. It's what it holds," I told her, starting up the projector. Melissa shook her head.

"You make no sense," Melissa stated. I rolled my eyes and ignored her.

"Seriously, no sense. At all. Are you sick or something?" Melissa continued.

"You'll see," I replied. I turned on the projector and decided to play my Mickey and Minnie short. I thought she would like it.

"I'll see what?" Melissa asked.

"Just watch," I told her, turning off the light.

* * *

"Again! Again! Again!" Adriana yelled. Seems Melissa wasn't the only one who loved my movies.

"I don't know..." I trailed off. _'Wait for it. 5...4...3-'_

"Play the movie already!" Melissa screamed. _'Okay, slight miscalculation.'_

"I'm going, I'm going, I'm going," I replied. _'Pushy little girl.'_

"Hurry up!" Adriana whined. _'Damn it! I think I went deaf.' _I played the movie, which shut them up. I had played these movies four times already. Good thing they were short.

* * *

"Girls. Dinner time," Esme said, interrupting Goofy. Adriana was the first to answer.

"Not hungry,"she said. I could tell by Esme's face, that she didn't believe Adriana.

"You sure? There's cake for after dinner," Esme informed them.

"Cake!" Adriana screamed, running off to the kitchen. It's too easy sometimes.

"Do you really have cake?" Melissa asked Esme, while Bella left for the kitchen.

"Yes. Yes I do," Esme replied. Melissa continued to look at her, like she was trying to decide if it was worth getting up.

"What kind of cake?" Melissa asked.

"Chocolate."

"Dinner Time! Come on!"

* * *

"Hide me!" Adriana shout-whispered. _'What?'_ I looked over at Emmett. We were having a conversation, that she interrupted.

"Why?" I asked. She shushed me.

"I'm not sleepy," Adriana told me. She completely contradicted herself by yawning. _'Ah, its bedtime. That explains the pajamas.'_

"Really?" Emmett asked her. She glared at him, then hit him.

"Are you gonna hide me or not? I still have time to get to Alice's room," She replied. I did my best not to laugh.

"You do that," I told her. She huffed and turned around angrily. Then stomped away. Not the best move if you didn't want to be found.

"Is it me, or does she remind you of an angry butterfly?" I asked, turning back to Emmett.

"It's you," Emmett replied.

**AN: And that's chapter 15. How did you like it? This was fun to write. And easy. Maybe too easy. What did you think?**


	16. Chapter 16

******Author's Note: ****1/18/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Fun and Family**

**Third Person POV**

**Ten Years Later**

It was a nice, cloudy day in British Columbia. The weather was overcast, and all was quiet around the house in the forest. Most of the occupants were inside, doing various things. All, but three, were there.

Not too far away from the house, was a little brunette. This girl looked to be about four. She was siting under a large oak tree, enjoying the quiet. She was taking advantage of it; reading a book she stole from Carlisle's room when he wasn't looking. _'Too young... I am not too young! I can totally understand this book! Okay... Maybe not this part' _Bella thought.

The young girl was too caught up in trying to understand her book to notice the approaching figure. The figure tip-toed to the girl, staying hidden and silent. The figure walked around the tree, and waited to pounce.

"Ahh!" The brunette screamed, until her mouth was covered.

"Bella, shut up! Do you want them to come out here?" Melissa whispered. Bella calmed down.

"Why did you do that? You scared me!" Bella answered. She looked mad and glared at his sister.

"I know! That's the fun part," Melissa replied. Bella huffed and went back to her book. Melissa rolled her eyes and grabbed the book, upsetting the brunette. Running away from the taller girl, Melissa managed to keep the book away.

"Why are you even reading this? It has no pictures." Melissa asked, flipping through the pages. Melissa continued to dodge Bella with ease.

"You're just aren't smart enough to appreci-appreci- uh, uh like it!" Bella replied, trying to recover. Melissa laughed, slowing down just the slightest.

"I think you meant appreciate," Melissa informed her, looking back. Bella crossed her arms and tried to ignore her blush that grew with her embarrassment.

"No I didn't," Bella insisted stubbornly. Melissa didn't believe her at all.

"Whatever. If you want you boring book back, you need to do me a favor." Melissa stated, stopping dead in her tracks. Bella looked at her warily.

"What kind of favor?" Bella- smartly -asked. Melissa smirked.

"Relax. It's nothing that bad. I just had a little... prank I want to pull," Melissa explained. Bella relaxed, and even giggled a little.

"Gonna get Emmett back for that helpless little girl comment?" Bella asked. _'He really should have known better,' _Melissa thought.

"Duh," Melissa answered, tucking the book under her arm. She rubbed her hands together as she explained..

"I have the perfect idea! And I know it will work! Alice even told me it was a good idea. How she knew about it..." Melissa trailed off. She looked off in thought, before snapping back to reality and shrugging.

"What's your idea?" Bella asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Well, it's simple. Follow me," Melissa said, waving her over. The two walked away a bit, before Melissa grabbed something from her hiding place within a tree. She showed Bella a bucket filled with colorful balloons.

"Balloons?" Bella commented, skeptically. Melissa's smile didn't leave her face.

"Balloons filled with garlic juice, butter that's four weeks old, a little bit of vinegar, and some vomit from when I threw up making this stuff," Melissa told Bella, wrinkling her nose at the memory.

"That sounds gross," Bella replied. Then she smiled evily.

"He's going to hate this!" Bella answered enthusiastically. Melissa's smile grew, but then her face sobered up.

"But listen carefully. Or else Emmett isn't going to be the only one stinky," Melissa stressed. Bella paid close attention to what Melissa was about to say.

"Okay. Adri is already hiding. You're going to hide too. I'm going to give you a few balloons and then make Emmett get close to you. You're going to throw your balloons and then run home for protection 'cause you know he's going to be mad. If you can't get home fast enough, that's your problem," Melissa explained. Bella looked a little scared.

"But Emmett is a little faster than us. How are we gonna beat him!" Bella asked. Melissa reassuringly smiled at her.

"Alice said she took care of that. We just need to run as fast as we can, and we'll be okay. Come on, I'll show you," Melissa said. Bella followed behind her.

"Wait!" Bella said, stopping. Melissa looked back.

"Give me my book," Bella demanded. Melissa rolled her eyes and tossed her the book. Bella fumbled a little, but caught it.

* * *

"Ready?" Melissa whispered. Bella and Adriana nodded. The brunette and redhead went back to their hiding places, ready to run. Melissa checked that everything is ready then went to get Emmett.

"Where's Emmie?" Melissa asked Esme. Esme looked up from her gardening.

"Inside. Why?" Esme asked. Melissa just smiled innocently.

"Bella won't play with us, and you can't play tag with two people," Melissa whined, her lie believable. She skipped inside.

"Emmie! You wanna play tag?" Melissa yelled out. Alice looked over to Melissa and smirked. Emmett shouted out, "Sure!" and then came down the stairs. He started chasing Melissa when she tagged him, making him it. After they left the home, Alice quietly slipped out.

"Na na na na na. You can't catch me, you can't catch me!" Melissa taunted. She made sure to make a lot of noise. Emmett allowed her to ran ahead.

"Come on Emmett! You slow poke!" Melissa yelled, turning around and running back to the house. Adriana and Bella- hearing the code phrase - started throwing the balloons. Emmett was stunned from the ambush, and that gave them enough time to throw a good number of them, before running away like Melissa. They could hear Melissa's laughter.

"Run Adri! Run!" Bella yelled, speeding past her. _'Why do I have to be the slow one? Alice better have not lied. I do not want to smell!" _Adriana thought, running a bit faster. _'But this was so cool! He looked so.. disgusted!' _Adriana thought excitedly. Emmett hadn't exactly been on her good side lately.

The two girls heard Emmett yell out a word neither have heard before, but they didn't stop or slow down. He sounded too close. Bella did, however, crack a smile. _'He sounds so mad...' _she thought.

Melissa arrived first and went inside, deciding to get Rosalie to protect her. _'Emmett would never go against Rosalie! Plus, there is no way she would let him get anywhere near her with that smell,' _Melissa thought. She ran up to Rosalie. The little girl was still smiling and giggling, unable to calm down.

"Up!" Melissa said quickly. Rosalie picked her up with a confused face. Hearing the commotion, the rest of the family entered the living room. Melissa's good spirits were contagious, due to Jasper's gift, and soon the entire family was smiling.

"What happened?" Rosalie asked, chuckling at Melissa's antic's. Melissa hid her face in her shoulder and was about to answer, when the other two little girls interrupted her.

"He's behind us," Bella exclaimed, hiding behind Edward. She hugged his legs, keeping him planted in front of her.

"He is so mad!" Adriana shouted excitedly, running to hide behind Jasper. Despite the confusion for the rest of the families face, the girls made no move to explain. Instead, they just laughed and made comments no one but themselves understood.

"His face! So wasn't expecting that," Bella managed to say between giggles, nearly falling.

"Oh God! What is that!" Rosalie exclaimed, stepping back and unconsciously hiding Melissa from the source of the smell. A disgusting odor just entered the house through the open door.

"Where are they!" Emmett yelled, walking into the room. A yellow-green mixture was covering his body, with a few chunks of what looked like partially digested food. Everyone quickly covered their noses, disgusted looks passing over all their faces.

"That's Emmie!" Melissa said nasally, holding her nose. All the vampires looked at her, with the except of Emmett who glared. Alice slipped in while no one was looking, with only Jasper noticing her entrance.

"What did you do?" Edward asked. Melissa smiled and looked at Emmett.

"Don't call me helpless." Emmett looked angry at the comment.

"Seriously! That's what this is about!" Emmett yelled. Melissa just nodded.

"Don't mess with me," Melissa threatened.

"Hey!" Adriana yelled. She looks indignant.

"We helped," Bella pointed out. Melissa waved them off and scoffed.

"My idea. My credit. All you did was throw stuff," Melissa replied. Bella scoffed and was about to retort, but someone cut her off.

"What did they throw?" Carlisle asked sternly. Melissa tensed up a little.

"Nothing," She said, trying to look innocent again. She didn't fool anyone, not that she really expected to. That's why she said it was her credit; no need for all of them to get punished.

"Nothing! This doesn't smell like nothing!" Emmett growled out. Melissa shrugged. She didn't look apologetic, which wouldn't help her grounding.

"Emmett, I love you, but you got to go. You stink," Rosalie said, pointing to the door. Emmett looked offended.

"But it's their fault!" Emmett complained. Esme shook her head.

"She's right. You need to get out," Esme choked out.

"But how am I supposed to wash this off," Emmett said, gesturing to the mess covering him.

"You have a hose, and here's some soap," Esme said, tossing him a bar. Emmett looked at her incredulously before storming out. The show was over, so Richard, Jasper(after Adriana released him), and Alice left the room to return to their activities.

"What did you throw at him?" Eric asked, interested in how Melissa executed the prank. Melissa looked at him innocently.

"Balloons," Melissa answered. Eric looked at her, realizing that he had to ask a more specific question.

"What was in the balloons?" he asked. Melissa smiled shyly.

"You don't wanna know," she answered. Esme turned to her.

"You know you're grounded, right?" Esme asked, turning to look at all of the guilty party.

"We know," they answered. Melissa started fidgeting, so Rosalie put her down.

"It was so worth it," Melissa stated. The three girls walked up to their room. Still giggling. Rosalie turned to Esme and Carlisle.

"Now what do we do?" Rosalie asked.

"Wait for him to wash up? Hr should have some input on the punishment," Esme suggested. Rosalie nodded.

"Agreed," she said. Then she smiled and shook her head.

"That was a good prank," Rosalie commented. Edward chuckled.

"Bella and Adri ambushed him. He had no idea it was coming. Then they ran home," he said.

"Smart plan. That girl is way too smart," Eric said, watching Emmett try to wash off the yellow junk outside.

"I think there's vomit in that," Rosalie said with disgust.

* * *

**Three Months Later**

"But why do I-"

"Just do it! Stop being a wimp."

"Come on. We already decided; you have to do it."

"But-"

"I'll give you my cookie!"

"Really?"

"Hell no. But you still have to do it."

"Oh. I don't want to."

"Go do it."

"Fine. I'll do it."

Adriana walked down the stairs. The girls had voted for her to go down and ask Alice a question that had been on their minds for a while. A long while.

Adriana walked into the living room, where Alice and Jasper were seated. Jasper had his arm around Alice. Alice was checking over the paperwork for selling her store. It did remarkably well, but now that they were leaving soon, it had to be sold.

"Ally?" Adriana called, looking over the arm of the chair. Alice looked over.

"What is it?" Alice said, setting the papers down. She leaned against Jasper.

"I have a question," Adriana continued. Alice looked panicked.

"This isn't like the question Bella asked Rosalie last week. Is it?" asked Alice. That would be embarrassing. Adriana shook her head, which allowed Alice to relax, She motioned for her to continue.

"Well, it's just that, well... how did you know about Melissa's plan to get back at Emmett? She didn't tell you and no one else knew," Adriana asked.

"Oh... that. That's a little hard to explain," Alice responded. Adriana climbed onto the sofa and gave her the cutest face she could manage.

"Please tell me," Adriana begged. Alice shook her head.

"Get your sisters down here first," Alice told her. Adriana squealed and ran upstairs. Alice and Jasper watched the hyperactive (seemingly) four-year-old run.

"What are we gonna do with them?" Jasper asked.

"No idea. I guess we just have to take it one day at a tine," Alice said.

"Can they be trusted? With this?" Jasper asked.

"Who are they going to tell? More importantly, who is going to believe them? They're," Alice asked.

"You have a point," Jasper conceded. They heard little footsteps approaching.

"Here they come," Jasper said. Alice rolled her eyes at his tone.

"Ally! Can you tell us now?" Adriana asked. She looked so excited to find out.

"Yeah! Yeah! Can you tell us now?" Melissa said. Bella climbed onto the couch, and snuggled into Alice's side.

Following Bella's lead, Adriana and Melissa made themselves comfortable of the sofa. Melissa climbed into Alice's lap, which Adriana frowned at because she wanted to sit there. Adriana sat in Jasper's lap instead. Once everyone was comfortable, Alice began.

"Okay well. You know how sometimes I just pause for a second out of no where and it's like I'm daydreaming," Alice began.

"Yeah, go on," Adriana said impatiently.

"The reason is because I have a gift," Alice continued. Melissa interrupted.

"Like a Christmas gift?" Melissa asked.

"Not exactly. My gift is a power. I can see the future," Alice finished.

"How can you see the future? It hasn't happened yet!" Melissa exclaimed. Alice did her best not to laugh at the young girl.

"I know. That's what makes me special," Alice managed to say. Melissa still looks confused and puzzled.

"But...But... How can you see something that hasn't happened?" Melissa asked. Adriana shared the same sediment.

"Yeah. How?" Adriana questioned. Bella stayed quiet, knowing Alice would answer.

"Do you think I'm lying?" Alice said.

"No!" Melissa exclaimed, leaning back.

"Never!" Adriana stated.

"Then why question how? Who cares how, I can! Is that the important part?" Alice said, redirecting their attention. Melissa looked like she was about to comment, but stopped herself.

"So, you can see everything that's about to happen, before it happens?" Melissa asked, slightly in awe. Alice made the so-so gesture.

"I can see most things, most of the time. But not all things, all the time though," Alice explained.

"That's still really cool. You're like... awesome!" Adriana exclaimed. Melissa and Bella nodded.

"You're like a super hero, except you don't save people. Which is okay, we still love you. Plus, if you were a super hero, you would be boring," Melissa stated with a smile. She gave Alice a big hug.

"Aw, thank you honey," Alice gushed. She gave Melissa a kiss on the forehead.

"And thank you too Adriana," Alice said.

"Hey, what about me? Alice isn't the only one with a power," Jasper said. The hybrids all turned to look at him.

"You have a power too?" Adriana asked, surprised. Jasper nodded.

"What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it?" Adriana asked, bouncing on his lap. Jasper held her down.

"Calm down first," Jasper said. Adriana instantly stilled.

"I can both feel your emotion and kinda change them," Jasper said. The girls quickly looked surprised. Bella moved so she could get a better looked at Jasper.

"Emotions are feelings, right? Like happy, sad, angry," Bella asked. Jasper nodded.

"So you can feel what we're feeling right now. And if you wanted to, you could change them," Bella asked. Again, Jasper nodded.

"Prove it," Melissa asked. Jasper looked offended.

"You don't believe me?" Jasper said. Melissa gave him a look.

"You once told us that a fat, bearded man sneaks into our house and leaves presents. Excuse me if I don't exactly believe you," Melissa stated.

"You believe in the Easter bunny, but not Santa. That's just unfair," Jasper mumbled in disbelief. Only Alice heard it, and she did her best to hide her smile.

"Well?" Adriana urged. Jasper looked at them.

"Alright," He stated. The girls just look at him for a few minutes, when all four girls burst out laughing. Alice was more controlled, but she was too close to the girls not to be affected.

"O-ka-kay I be-beli-lieve you," Melissa stuttered out. She holding her stomach. She almost fell off Alice's lap, but Alice caught her.

"Jasper, that's enough." Alice told him. Jasper pulled back. The girls continued to laugh even when Jasper stopped. It took a while for them to completely calm down. Their natural giddiness, happiness, and all round excitability made it very hard for them to calm down.

"That was so cool!" Adriana shouted. Melissa hit his shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again," Melissa said, smiling.

"You don't mean that," Jasper said. Melissa shrugged, knowing that it was true. She didn't mind laughing.

"Does anyone else here have powers?" Adriana asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"Yep. Edward and Eric," Jasper said. The girls looked at each other.

"Bye Ally-gator," Melissa said, jumping off Alice's lap. Alice chuckled at her.

"Bye Jazzy pants!" Adriana said, following Melissa. Jasper groaned. Bella sighed.

"I have to follow them, don't I?" Bella asked.

"Bella, get your butt over here!" Melissa shouted from out of the room. Bella climbed down.

"Ally. Are we really moving?" Bella asked. Alice looked at her.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but yes," Alice answered, knowing that Bella didn't like the idea. Bella left the room without saying anything else.

* * *

"Eddie! I have a question for you!" Melissa said, walking into his room. Edward was laying on his bed, reading.

"Yeah, I know." Edward replied. He didn't look up when the rest of them entered the room.

"Then tell us what your power is," Adriana demanded. Bella just stood there, leaning against the door.

"You really want to know?" Edward replied. Bella covered Adriana's mouth.

"Eddie, just tell us already. It's gonna be nap time soon," Bella whined. Edward sat up and put his book down.

"Alright, alright," Edward said, "I can read minds."

_'What the-'_

_'Seriously!'_

_'No way. Just... no way'_

"Really?" Bella asked. Edward nodded. Bella looked skeptical; if he could read minds, then how did she trick him so often? And how did he fall for Melissa's tricks?

"I can read minds. Just not everyone's mind," Edward said. _'Can you read my mind?' _Bella thought. She waited a second.

"You can't read my mind, can you?" she asked. Edward shook his head.

"I also can't read yours," he said, pointing to Melissa, "Or yours," he finished, pointing to Adriana.

"But everyone else you can," Melissa stated, wanting to make sure. Edward nodded.

"Everyone, but you three," He answered. Melissa looked thoughtful.

"Is Emmie planning on getting back at me? He's been acting weird," Melissa asked. Edward nodded.

"Can you tell what?" Melissa asked nicely, "Please."

"Maybe later," Edward answered. Adriana covered Melissa's mouth.

"Okay! Enough of that. We still have Eric to question," Adriana said, pulling Melissa and Bella out of the room.

"Bye bye Eddie," Bella said.

* * *

"Eric! We have a question, and you need to answer it quick because I am getting tired and it's almost nap time," Adriana announced, still pulling Melissa and Bella along.

"And that question would be?" Eric asked unnecessarily. Adriana rolled her eyes.

"What is your power?" Adriana asked, then added as an afterthought "And can you show us?"

"Well..." Eric started, stretching out the word. Adriana huffed.

"Hurry up!" Adriana shouted, impatient. Eric put his hands up in surrender.

"I can change the way I look," Eric told them. Melissa perked up.

"So you can look like anyone else?" Melissa asked. Eric nodded.

"Anyone. Any size, shape, hair color, eye color, anything. The only problem is that I can't hold the look for longer than a few hours," Eric explained.

"Show us," Melissa demanded. Eric turned to her.

"What should I change?" He asked. The girls thought for a while.

"Any color right?" Melissa asked. Eric paused for a moment, then hesitantly nodded.

"Can you make your hair pink? No, green. No, both. Can you make them both!" Melissa asked excited. Eric slowly nodded. She looked at him expectantly. Eric sighed and closed his eyes.

It started at the roots. A few stands became pink, others green. The color moved down from the roots to the ends. The entire process took about seven seconds.

"Cool!" Melissa exclaimed, touching Eric hair. She climbed onto the couch.

"That's a good look on you," Melissa said. Eric rolled his eyes.

"That's your opinion," Eric said. The pink and green started to drain away, moving back to the roots. His dirty blond hair was soon back, as if it was never changed.

"Well, I'm gonna go take a nap now. Dreamland and unicorns are calling me," Adriana announced, leaving the room. Bella followed out.

"I'm gonna go help mom graden. See ya Melissa," Bella said. Melissa waved her away.

"Can you make your hair blue? I've always wanted to see blue hair."

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

"Don't go too far!" Esme yelled, watch the three hybrids run out into the forest.

"We won't!" Melissa shouted back.

"And if we hear footsteps or people, we'll run right back." Bella added, knowing what Esme was about to say next.

"Be careful," Esme said. The girls just continued running away. After they got a good distance away, they stopped.

"What are we gonna play?" Adriana asked.

"Hide and seek?" Bella offered. Adriana shook her head.

"We played that yesterday! You can't play the same game twice in a row," Adriana yelled.

"Superhero?" Bella offered. Melissa shook her head.

"It's no fun unless we have one of the grownups playing the villain. And none of them want to play today," Melissa complained. They thought for a few more seconds.

"Explorer?" Melissa suggested. Adriana's face broke out in a smile.

"Perfect! We haven't played that in forever!" She shouted. Bella started to bounce.

"I love explorer!" Bella gushed.

"I love make-believe!" Adriana exclaimed.

"Then it's settled. I'm leader!" Melissa claimed, before the other two could.

"Navigator!" Adriana said quickly. Bella stomped her foot.

"No fair!" Bella complained. Melissa shrugged.

"Tough luck. You can be bodyguard," Melissa told her. Bella shrugged and nodded.

"Let's start!" Adriana said.

* * *

"So leader Melissa, what do you see?" Adriana asked. The girls were hiding behind a tree, looking around as if danger was around every corner.

"Nothing yet. I think it's safe to- Oh my god! A tiger!" Melissa exclaimed. They jumped to their feet and looked in the direction Melissa pointed in.

"Run!" Bella yelled. They took off in a sprint in the opposite direction.

"This isn't working! What do we do?" Adriana asked.

"We have to fight! Get your swords!" Melissa commanded.

"Since when do we have swords?" Bella asked.

"Since now when I said we did. Duh," Melissa retorted.

"Whatever," Bella mumbled. Melissa ran forward.

"Die tiger!" Melissa demanded, pretending to fight something. Adriana and Bella quickly joined. The three fought the imaginary, twenty foot tiger. However, they were losing.

"Quick! We're outnumbered. Back to base!" Melissa ordered. The girls took off.

"Duck! Giant birds!" Bella called out. They ducked and covered their heads.

"How do we deal with a giant bird?" Melissa asked. Adriana shrugged.

"Giant bread?" Adriana suggested.

"That's actually a good idea. It makes sense; birds love bread," Bella said.

"Bella quick, check our supplies for giant bread. We can use it to trap the birds and then we ride them!" Melissa order excitedly. She clapped her hands.

"We're lucky, we have some. From when we made that giant a sandwich for lunch. Okay, where do we put it?" Bella asked.

"I know! We set the bread over there. And when the birds go to eat it, we sneak up and jump on their backs!" Adriana explained. Bella quickly threw the imaginary bread away.

"Wait for it. Wait for it. Now!" Melissa whispered. They quickly run over.

"I caught one!" Bella shouted. Adriana pretended to be pulled around.

"Need some help over here!" Adriana yelled. Bella quickly went over.

"I'll use my lasso!" Bella said. She threw the imaginary lasso and pretended to tie it.

"This is fun!" Melissa exclaimed, walking over to them.

"Yeah, but talking about bread made me hungry. Is it lunch time yet?" Adriana asked. Melissa shrugged.

"One way to find. Let's go home," Melissa offered. They started walking away.

"I hope Esme made sweets," Melissa commented.

"I hope that you let us get some," Bella replied.

"Shut it!" Melissa playfully yelled. They quieted down.

"I'm gonna miss this place. Why do we have to move?" Bella said, breaking the silence.

"Come on Bells, it'll be okay! Our new home will be nice!" Adriana said, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah. I'm sure we'll love it," Melissa continued. They kept walking. The Melissa heard something strange.

"Did you hear that?" Melissa asked. Adriana and Bella listened closely. There was a soft, rustling sound in the background.

"Is that footsteps?" Bella asked, looking back.

"They're pretty far away," Adriana commented, not really worried.

"Maybe we should hurry up. Mom said to come home right away if we hear footsteps. I don't want to get in trouble again," Melissa said. The other two girls agreed that it would be best to avoid punishment, so they began running away.

The girls reached the house, the footsteps fading into the background of their mind. Emmett and Jasper were outside, wrestling(although they did take it down a few steps when they heard the girls' footsteps). They stopped when they saw the girls. Bella and Adriana waved at them while they walked inside. Melissa stayed outside for a second.

"What's up?" Jasper asked, noticing she wasn't going inside.

"We heard someone out there," Melissa said, before she headed inside to get lunch. Edward and Jasper listened for anything, before shrugging it off.

**AN: Did you like it? Did you love it? Please review. And check out the character profiles. They've been updated. Also, I added some information about Bella.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: 1/17/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Superman, Snow, and Stalkers**

**Third Person POV**

**Two Years Later**

"I don't get it," Adriana said. She and Melissa were sitting on the couch of their new home, looking at a comic book Richard had picked up for them. Adriana and Melissa enjoyed looking at the pictures. Most of the house was empty, with the younger vampires in school and Carlisle at the hospital. Esme was the only one in the house with the(still could pass for) four-year-old's.

"What don't you get?" Esme asked, coming out of the kitchen. She was holding a plate of cookies.

"Cookie!" Melissa shouted. She grabbed one as soon as she could.

"I don't get Superman." Adriana stated. She grabbed one of the cookies, still looking at the comic book. Esme looked amused.

"What about him don't you get?" Esme asked. Adriana took a bite of her cookie.

"I don't get why he's super. I mean, we can do what he does!" Adriana explained.

"We, well you, can run really really fast. I've seen Edward jump really high before. Emmett lifted Edward's car once. Daddy once told me that it's hard to hurt one of you. So how is this Superman special?" Adriana continued. She ended her words with an inquisitive look toward Esme. Esme looked surprised.

"You are very observant," Esme commented. Melissa cut in here.

"No she's not. She's a parrot," Melissa said, eating her third cookie. Adriana hit her.

"Hey! I came up with most of that. You only said Superman wasn't special," Adriana defended. Melissa shrugged.

"Alright. I'll give you that," Melissa conceded. Then she turned to Esme.

"So, why is he called Superman?" Melissa asked. She grabbed another cookie. Esme sat down on the couch with them, setting the plate down on the table.

"That's a complicated answer," Esme said.

"We can keep up," Bella said, walking back into the room. She was holding her teddy bear(which was the reason she left the room in the first place).

"That took you too long. What happened?" Melissa asked Bella. Bella shrugged and sat down on the couch.

"My teddy was in Emmett's room. I don't know why," Bella said, baffled.

"Weird. So mommy, are you gonna answer or not?" Melissa asked. Esme smiled quickly at being called mommy. The girls alternate between calling her and Carlisle mommy and daddy. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. More often than not, they did.

"Alright. I'll try," Esme conceded. The girls made themselves comfortable and gave Esme all their attention.

"Alright, Superman is called that because to a lot of people, he is super." Esme started. They all looked confused.

"See, not everyone is like this family. Not everyone can move as fast as we can, or is as strong. Do you understand?" Esme continued. Melissa and Bella nodded.

"Why can't they? Are they sick? Or stupid? Or disabled? Or stupid" Adriana asked. Esme smiled and shook her head.

"No, they're not. They're different," Esme answered. The girls stayed silent. Esme took that a sign to go on.

"Or should I say, we're different. See, we are not the same as them. They're human, and we are vampire," Esme continued.

"Vampires?" Bella asked. She has never heard that word before.

"Yes." Esme answered simply.

"What's the difference between a human and vampire?" Bella asked. Esme took a deep breath.

"Well, humans can't run as fast and aren't as strong. They also need to eat food, sleep and use the bathroom. They also don't sparkle in the sunlight. Vampire can run very fast, are very strong, have a different diet. We don't sleep or use the bathroom, and we do sparkle in the sunlight," Esme explained. Melissa looked thoughtful.

"But... then me, Adriana, and Bella sound more human that vampire?" Melissa commented.

"It's Adriana, Bella, and I- remember. You need to learn that. And to ask your questions, it is because you three are both human and vampire," Esme answered.

"Do vampires also have yellow eyes? Because other than you nine, I've never seen anyone with yellow eyes," Adriana asked. Esme nodded her head.

"You know how our eyes get darker, or turn black sometimes. That means we're hungry," Esme explains.

"What do you eat?" Melissa asked.

"I'll tell you when you're a little older. Now girls, you can't tell anyone this," Esme said.

"Tell them what?" Melissa asked.

"That we are vampires. That is a secret, that stays between us. Understood?" Esme said.

"We can't tell anyone?" Bella asked.

"Just like with Alice's, Edward's, Jasper's, and Eric's powers, this is a secret that no one outside this family can know about. No one. Or else, you will be in very big trouble. Okay?" Esme said. The girls nodded.

"Eric said that if we tell anyone about their powers, bad things will happen. Really really really bad things." Melissa said. Esme nodded.

"That's true. You can't tell anyone," Esme stressed.

"How do we know if a person's a vampire or human?" Adriana asked, cocking her head and grabbing another cookie.

"It's not that easy. I would say eye color, but some humans have gold eyes. Although, not many. A better way is through touch. You know how we're cold. Well, humans are warm." Esme answered.

"Does being a vampire make you pretty? Cause you're all a lot prettier than any human I've seen," Melissa asked.

"Yes. It does," Esme answered. Melissa smiled, then the smile fell. She scrunched up her face.

"What if someone has red eyes?" Melissa asked slowly. Adriana sat up straighter, interested in the answer. Bella was confused at first, but then memories slowly came back to her.

"Then they're most likely a vampire," Esme said, watching the girls reaction. Melissa was quiet for a few moments, and Adriana refused to look up. Bella kicked her feet.

"Does... having red eyes... mean you're a bad person?" Bella asked quietly.

"Not necessarily. Why do you ask that?" Esme asked cautiously. Bella looked down at her hands. Melissa decided to finish the conversation.

"Because," Melissa answered.

"Because," Esme prompted. Melissa paused before answering.

"Because I've never met a nice person with red eyes," Melissa said finally. Bella and Adriana nodded in agreement.

"And how many vampires with red eyes have you met?" Esme asked softly. Adriana twisted a lock of hair around her finger. Bella held up three fingers.

"Like... five I guess," Melissa mumbled. Adriana ignored the conversation.

"Where did you met them?" Esme asked carefully.

"Some in the forest, before we met all of you," Melissa said. Adriana nodded in agreement.

"Some from before," Adriana said.

"From before what?" Esme asked softly. Melissa got down from the couch.

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I'm gonna go paint," Melissa said, leaving the room without another word. Esme followed to make sure she didn't make a mess. That girl had a habit of getting the surrounding area covered in paint. She didn't like being limited to a paper.

"I don't care what Mommy says, red eyes are bad eyes. Always have been, always will be," Adriana commented. Bella nodded in totally agreement.

"Totally. Who were the other two vampires? I only remember three," Bella replied.

"You were asleep. That's why you don't remember. I'll tell you later," Adriana replied. Bella shrugged and went back to the comic book.

"I still think Superman is stupid." Adriana said, looking at the comic book.

"What do you expect? It's made by humans," Bella said.

* * *

**One Week Later**

"Are we going to decorate the tree after we come back?" Bella asked, zipping up her coat. It was a nice day outside, cloudy but not too cold. Esme mentioned that it might be time to start having the girls interact with children their(physical) age. Adults were more likely not to believe comments about vampires when they come from children. It was better now then later. Plus, the girls liked snow.

"Yes. Don't worry, we'll wait for you to get back," Esme said. Rosalie and Emmett wanted to get out of the house, so they were taking the girls to a park( a reasonable distance away so they will won't meet anyone they already knew).

"Don't I look cute! I have waited forever to wear this coat," Adriana stated, leaving the basement where her room is located. This house has two stories and a basement. The basement had the girl's room, Edward's room, and a play area.

"You look adorable Adri!" Alice said. Adriana was wearing a peach coat, off-white pants, a hot pink and lilac scarf, and off-white gloves. A light purple hat rests on her red hair and pink boots finish off the look.

"What about me!" Melissa said, insulted. She crossed her arms. She was wearing an emerald coat, light gray pants, mint and yellow scarf, and yellow gloves. A light green hat and dark gray boots completed the look.

"You look wonderful," Rosalie said, "And so do you Bella." Bella was wearing a navy blue coat, dark gray pants, light blue and aqua scarf, and white gloves. A light blue and white hat topped her head, and light gray boots covered her feet. Bella smiled at the compliment.

"Thank you," she said shyly. Grabbing her keys, Rosalie walked with Emmett to the car with the girls.

"You remember how to act in front of the human?" Rosalie asked. Melissa rolled her icy blue eyes as she stepped into the car.

"We remember. Go slow and be careful, humans break easily." Melissa said. Rosalie fastened the girls seat belts, then Emmett started the car.

"How long until we get to the park?" Adriana said, looking away from the window.

"About an hour," Emmett answered.

* * *

"They look like us!" Adriana exclaimed, looking at the children playing in the park. The park was fairly empty, with only four children in it. Three boys, one girl. All the boys were dark haired, while the girl was a blond. All had brown eyes.

"Well, like Bella." Melissa corrected. Adriana shrugged.

"What do we do now?" Bella asked unsurely.

"Introduce ourselves of course!" Adriana answered. She looked excited.

"Do we have to?" Bella asked, looking at Melissa. She nodded. Adriana grabbed Bella's arm.

"Come on, let's go." Adriana said, pulling Bella toward the children. Melissa trailed behind. Rosalie and Emmett grabbed a few things out of the car then sat on one of the benches. Once Bella, Adriana, and Melissa reached the children, Melissa stepped forward to introduce them.

"Hi there! I'm Melissa. These are my sisters Adri and Bella," Melissa said, pointing to the girls.

"Hi! I'm Daren," one of the boys said.

"Johnny," another boy said.

"I'm Daisy," the only girl said.

"Andy," the third boy said.

"Alex," the last boy said. Melissa waved at all of them.

"Nice to meet you. Can we play with you?" Melissa asked. The oldest, Daren, answered.

"Only if you can keep up," he said. Adriana laughed, bending forward to hold her stomach.

"You won't have to worry about that!" she exclaimed. Daren recoiled at her volume.

"You're loud," he stated. Adriana shrugged when she calmed down.

"So, what are you playing?" Bella asked. Daisy smiled.

"Hide and seek! I'm the bestest hider ever. No one can find me," Daisy bragged. Melissa crossed her arms.

"I bet Bella could. She's the bestest seeker ever." Melissa replied. _'I don't think bestest is a word. Whatever. They used it.' _Melissa thought.

"Then she's it. Can you count to ten?" Andy asked. Bella nodded.

"I can even count to twenty." Bella stated.

"Cool! Okay, that tree there," Andy continued, pointing to a tree, "is base. You count there. When you get to twenty, you look for us. Got it?"

"Yep!" Bella said excitedly. She walked over to the tree.

"I'm gonna start counting! You better hide," Bella shouted. The rest of the children ran away to find hiding places.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."

* * *

Daisy giggled. Melissa shushed her and covered her mouth when she didn't shut up. Melissa had a smile on her face. Johnny was it. So far, he hadn't found anyone. He was getting kinda frustrated.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" he said, walking by. Melissa was starting to feel bad for him. He has been it for a while.

"Ha! Found you!" he cried out. Adriana came out of her hiding place, looking very upset. Her arms were crossed and she was pouting.

"Help me look!" Johnny begged. Adriana shrugged, and decided to throw him a bone.

"Did you look in the slide?" Adriana asked, knowing the answer. Johnny shook his head.

"Look there," Adriana suggested. Johnny ran over to the slide and bend down to look inside.

"Found you!" he said. He stepped back as Andy and Alex slid down.

"You cheated. Adri told you where to find," Alex said.

"No I didn't! That's not cheating," Johnny yelled.

"Yeah, it is!" Alex replied.

"Isn't"

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"Hey!" Both guys stopped. They turned around, just to get a face full of snow. Melissa and Daisy had thrown a snowball at them.

"Snowball fight!" Adriana said, making one. She threw it at Daren.

"You're on!" Daren said, scooping up snow.

"Ah! Adri!" Bella yelled, throwing a snowball back at her. Adriana dodged and threw one at Daisy. Alex hit her in the back of the head with one.

"Take that!" Johnny said, hitting Melissa. She threw one back, but missed.

"You throw like a girl!" Andy taunted. A second later he got hit by four snowballs at once. Spitting out snow, he said "Ow." The rest of the kids laughed.

"That's what you get!" Daisy said, her hands on her hips. Alex hit her with a snowball.

"Hey!" Daisy yelled.

* * *

"Bye!" Daisy and Andy said. The rest of the kids have left already. Daisy's and Andy's parents called them. They were leaving. Melissa slid down the slide.

"Bye!" Melissa shouted. Adriana walked over to her.

"That was fun. I liked playing with them," Adriana said excitedly, shaking snow out of her hair.

"That's nice for you, but it's time to leave. Don't you want to decorate the tree?" Rosalie said, walking toward the girls. Emmett was behind her.

"The Christmas tree! We need to leave now," Bella said, jumping off the swing.

"Okay, okay," Melissa said, getting off the slide.

"This was a lot of fun! Can we do this again?" Adriana said, running around the couple like an excited dog. Melissa and Bella followed them calmly, getting dizzy from watching Adriana.

"Some day," Emmett said.

"We should have a snowball fight. The entire family! It would be so cool. Can we do it? Can we do it? Can we do it please!" Adriana begged.

"That's a great idea. We have to do that," Emmett said.

"Yes!" Adriana exclaimed.

* * *

"Playing with the other kids was so fun! I didn't like going slow, but it was still fun!" Adriana said. As she wrapped the tinsel around the tree, she rattled off reasons why playing with the other kids was so fun. The rest of the family was around the tree, helping to decorate.

"The other kids talk weird. They don't use good grammar and they make up words." Bella said.

"What did you do?" Carlisle asked. Bella shrugged.

"Nothing," Bella said.

"When in Rome," Melissa said. Jasper smiled at her.

"You remembered that," he said, proud of her. She nodded her head.

"I figured it applied in this situation," Melissa said, smiling. She hung some more ornaments.

"You're too smart sometimes," Jasper said. Melissa looked up at him.

"Thank you," Melissa said. She picked up her cup of hot chocolate and took a sip. The girls took off their coats, hats, gloves, and scarf after coming in. Adriana had a long-sleeved shirt with a pink poodle. Bella had a short-sleeved navy blue shirt with cherries. Melissa had a light green long-sleeved shirt with an ice cream cart.

"Oh! Adri, you didn't tell them your idea." Melissa said, turning to said girl. Adriana dropped the tinsel.

"Oh my god! I totally forgot. Okay, so we had a snowball fight with the children at the park. And I thought that it would be fun if we had a snowball fight. All of us! It would be so cool!" Adriana said quickly and excitedly. She was bouncing in her spot.

"Can we do it? Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please," Adriana said. She was smiling and begging with her eyes. She even pouted her lips.

"Why not?" Esme said. Carlisle nodded his head.

"It could be fun. But we would have to wait until Friday to do it." Carlisle said. Adriana squealed and jumped up and down.

"Yes! Yes!" Adriana screamed. Everyone at least chuckled at the hyperactive sweetheart.

* * *

**Two Days Later**

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh! What fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh," Melissa sang, putting on her white boots. Unlike her hyper sister, Melissa decided to dress in white, to blend in better. She played smart, not hard.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way; Oh! what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh." Melissa continued. Not needing to play any part, the girl simply had a light jacket over a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and boots.

"Melissa, are you really gonna wear that? You know it won't make much of a difference." Adriana said. Bright green coat with lilac details, mint colored shirt, white pants, and purple boots.

"At least it can't hurt me." Melissa shot back. Bella was sitting with her on the couch, waiting to leave. Bella decided to wear all white too, since it seemed like the better option.

"You two are no fun," Adriana stated. Melissa scoffed.

"Yeah, whatever. Well, I'm ready. What are we waiting for?" Melissa asked.

"Nothing. Get off the couch," Edward said, walking in. Bella and Melissa quickly got on their feet; neither wanted to waste time.

"Yay!" Adriana shouted. They ran outside, where the rest of the family was waiting.

"Okay, before we start, I just want to remind you girls not to run off too far," Carlisle said. Melissa rolled her eyes.

"We got it. Let's go. I want to start already," Melissa whined.

"Fine," Eric said, throwing a snowball at her. Melissa wiped the snow off her face slowly, shocked that he had the nerve to do that. The rest of the family started to scatter.

"Oh, it's so on." She said, grabbing some snow. She chased Eric into the forest, hell-bent on getting him.

* * *

"Ah!" Bella screamed, ducking. She stuck her tongue out at Emmett and chucked a snowball at him. She hid behind a tree and decided to take a short break. She wasn't tired, but she had to regroup her thoughts. _'I got Emmett back. I got Ally. I dumped some snow on Adriana. I still need to get Edward. He's next'.' _Bella thought.

Bella stood up and stretched. She looked in the direction that she heard her family. Bella was about to go to them, when she heard a noise. It distracted her. Curiosity smothering out any common sense or fear Bella would have had, She walked toward the noise. She walked carefully, making sure to make no sound.

Inspecting the trees she past, Bella found no further sign of the noise she heard. She was about to walk away when a smell hit her nose. It smelled familiar and kinda sweet. It had a coppery, metallic hint to it. It was far away. Bella felt an unexplained attraction to the smell.

She followed the smell, ignoring the majority of her brain that was screaming to turn back. A sense of foreboding sunk into her stomach, not that Bella took heed.

* * *

"Come on Edward! We need to get Rosie," Melissa said, hiding behind him for protection. Edward smiled at her, before pausing. The edge of a mind brushed against him. And what he heard in the split second made his frozen blood run cold. He stopped.

"Melissa, you need to find mom and go home," Edward said, talking loud enough for Esme to hear him. Esme came out of hiding, while Eric and Jasper looked at Edward from their respective hiding places.

"Esme, take Melissa and Adriana home now," Edward stressed, pushing Melissa in her direction. Melissa looked back baffled as she tripped and was force to correct herself or eat snow. Esme nodded as she grabbed Melissa's hand and lead her away with a few comforting words.

"What happen? What about Bella? Why did you leave her out?" Eric asked, once Esme took Melissa away. Melissa was too far away to hear them, but Esme could.

"We need to go now. Something bad is about to happen, something very bad. We need to find her," Edward said, running away. Eric and Jasper followed him closely.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Bella screamed in disgust, recoiling from the sight. A dead deer laid in front of, bloody and mangled. An exposed heart still weakly beating caught her attention, as she bit back bitter bile. Crimson blood oozed out from the body, a vibrant contrast to the white snow it laid on. The sight horrified her.

Staggering back, Bella tripped and fell to the ground. The sight in front of her so whole held her attention, so completely paralyzed her sense that no other sight, sound, or smell could reach her. As she attempted to tear her eyes away, a malicious figure crept up to her.

"You're coming with me," the figure said, picking up the shocked girl with she could run away.

**An: And that's it. What do you think? Like it? Hate it?**

**PS. This is the origin of Bella aversion to blood.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: 1/18/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Search and Rescue **

**Third Person POV**

**A Couple Minutes Later**

Pacing, Edward waited for his family to get closer. He knew that Alice would gather everyone else, he just needed to wait. Jasper and Eric watched Edward fret, trying to figure out what could have happened. With their past, ideas were flowing rapidly, none good.

"Edward, what happened?" Jasper asked, when the rest of the family came within earshot. Alice ran straight to Jasper's side, the look in her eye telling him she felt guilty. He held her tight, trying to comfort her with out using his powers. His own storm of emotions was hard to calm down.

"I only know what Edward is about to say. I didn't... I didn't see anything, I still CAN'T see anything," Alice said, panic in her voice. She was terrified for Bella.

"I didn't hear much. I only caught the edge of his mind because he was too far away," Edward said.

"What did you hear?" Carlisle asked. They needed all the information they could get before going to find Bella.

"He's seen Bella before, my guess is that he was one of the red-eyed vampires they've seen. He enjoys hunting and is looking forward to meeting us. Apparently he used something to bait Bella although I don't know what. He and his mate are the only ones in the area. That's all I know," Edward informed them.

"So what do we do now? Just look around and hope we come across her scent. That could take hours and she's little. It wouldn't take one hour to drain her, " Richard said. As much as Bella annoyed him at times, she was still his little sister.

"It's all we can do right now," Carlisle answered.

"What are we waiting for? Let's start looking! Sooner we find this guy, the sooner we can rip him apart for taking my little sister," Emmett stated(loudly). They split up, looking for any sign of Bella or the vampire.

* * *

"Why are we going home mommy? Why isn't Bella with us? What happened? Why aren't you telling us?" Adriana asked, fear on her face. She was with Ally, when Ally just suddenly stopped. She told Adri to find Esme and go home. She didn't explain why. So Adri was naturally upset and curious.

"I don't know honey. But I'm sure everything will be fine," Esme said, tightening her grip on Melissa's hand. The girl has tried to run away five times already, wanting to find out where her sister was.

"What do we do now?" Adriana asked.

"We're gonna go home and wait," Esme said. Melissa kept looking back, hoping for some sign of her sister. None came.

"Bella is going to be fine, Melissa. The best thing you can do is come home and stay out of trouble with me, that way they don't have to worry about you. Can you do that?" Esme asked. Melissa looked up at her with obvious reservations.

"She's in trouble; I just know it. It feels wrong to walk away when I know that; she's my sister!" Melissa exclaimed, her anxiety tinting her voice

"There's nothing you can do right now. You'd be putting yourself in danger if you tried; that would help Bella," Esme told her. Melissa nodded sadly.

"I know. It doesn't change how I feel. She's my sister; one of my first sisters! I want to help! But I can't," Melissa said, her eyes watering slightly. Esme couched down and hugged her tight.

"It's going to be okay. Come on, let's go inside." Esme said. She took Melissa by the hand and walked to the house. Adriana followed behind quietly. She didn't feel right leaving Bella either, but she didn't like the idea of going by herself. She wouldn't go by herself. She couldn't. Just the thought scared her.

"What do we do now?" Adriana asked, once they entered the house. The house seemed too quiet to Adriana; the quiet scared her.

"How about I make you some hot chocolate, and you watch some TV?" Esme suggested, pushing them in direction of the living room. TV was the first idea that popped into Esme's mind and she hoped it would take their attention away from what was happening.

"There's never anything good on TV!" Adriana complained. On the inside, she was glad for the distraction. It kept her mind off the danger her sister might have been in. But the fact still held that nothing good was on TV during the day. Esme rolled her eyes at the girl's comment

"I think 'Junior Jamboree' is on," Esme mentioned, walking to the kitchen. Adriana perked up and ran to the living room. That was her favorite show. And frankly, the only one she could stand to watch.

"Come on Melissa!" Adriana shouted. Melissa continued to look at the door for a few moments before turning away. _'There's nothing I can do. I'm too little. Even if I found her, how could I help? I couldn't. I just need to stay out of trouble. I hope they can find her. I don't wanna lose my sister,' _Melissa thought sadly. Sighing, she sat down next to Adriana and tried to pay attention to the screen.

* * *

Groaning in anger, Alice punched the nearing tree. They were able to find Bella's scent, but lost it a few miles after the unknown vampire grabbed her. None of them could find his trail anywhere; it was like he vanished into thin air. This guy was good and they hated it. They hated him.

Jasper sent her a wave of calm, having gotten some control over his own emotions. Jasper and Alice went off to look together, as did Rosalie and Emmett. The rest of the Cullens went their own way. Alice took a deep breath and embraced the calm she desperately needed. She still couldn't see anything regarding Bella. Nothing and that infuriated her.

"We're going to find her," Jasper assured her. Alice turned to him.

"Then why can't I see us finding her?" Alice asked. She continued to keep one part of her mind on watching the decisions of her family. Nothing.

"I thought you couldn't see the girls?" Jasper asked, trying to distract her from the visions that were only upsetting her. Alice glared at him. Now was not the time to be stupid.

"I can't. But I see us and our decisions. I can see the disappointment on our face when we can't find her," Alice explained, her voice cracking from hysteria. She loved Bella; she loved all three girls. This was breaking her heart. Then setting it on fire.

"Alice calm down. We will find her. We will," Jasper stated. Alice wanted to believe him. She really wanted to. But her visions weren't giving her much hope.

"Come on, let's keep looking," Jasper said. Alice nodded and started running.

* * *

"Scream and I'll snap your neck," the strange vampire growled at Bella. Bella nodded her head. The vampire threw her against the wall. The dilapidated concrete wall crumbled a little at the force of the impact. Bella raised her head and ignored the lightheaded feeling she felt. There was more important things to focus on.

"Who are you?" Bella asked. The man knew her, but she didn't know him. And that frightened her. Bella didn't move from her spot against the(slightly broken) wall. She didn't want to give him any reason to attack her.

"James," the man answered. He figured since she was going to die soon, why not tell her? Let her know who it was that finished her.

"What do you want with me?" Bella asked. She was trying to look brave. But her trembling and quivering heart gave her away. But her ever-present curiosity got her through the question.

"Eventually, I'm going to drain you. But for now, you're going to give me information." James answered. He enjoyed watching her squirm. He was going to drag this out.

Bella took a quick look around, without moving her head. She knew better than to try to escape without a plan. She didn't know what he meant by drain her, but it didn't sound good. Until help came, or she saw an opportunity, she was going to have to stall.

"What information?" Bella asked, trying to calm her heart. She caught sight of another vampire(which made her, and her heart rate, jump) waiting in the shadows. Well that ruined three of her plans. She down to two, one of which she knew she couldn't pull off.

"Information about the Cullens." James answered. Bella looked at him. _'Why does he want to know about my family?' _Bella thought. She remembered what she was not allowed to talk about.

"What kind of information?" Bella asked. _'__I'm not going to get out of this alone. I guess I need to stall until someone comes.' _Bella thought bitterly, as she dismissed every one of her ideas for escape.

She wasn't stupid(quite the opposite). She knew she didn't stand a chance against this vampire, not like this. Maybe if she had the element of surprise. But she didn't. He was watching her closely, which is unnerving her. He was studying her.

"Stuff like powers, strengths, and such," James answered. He was currently planning on what he would do with her. Bella swallowed the giant lump that was stuck in her throat and sat up. Those were some of the things she couldn't talk about.

"I won't tell you that," Bella said, gaining a bit of courage. James looked amused. Like he thought it was absurd that she would stand up to him. Despite her best efforts, the girl was still shaking.

"Won't?" James asked, smiling at the little girl's surprising choice of words. As if, when the time came, she would truly have a choice in the matter. As tough as she might act now, he knew she would fold with little pressure.

"Won't." Bella said, swallowing her fear. _'I just need to survive long enough for someone to find me.' _Bella thought. And if she was going to do that, then she couldn't be scared.

"We'll see about that," James said, not feeling the least bit worried. She was a human and a child at that. She would break. Walking up to her, James grabbed her by the front of the shirt.

"Yes we will," Bella managed to say, struggling to get away.

* * *

The Cullens weren't having much luck finding Bella's or the stranger's trail. Edward hadn't heard any thoughts but that of his family. It had been twenty minutes. While Bella was tough(as some playful fighting with Eric has proven), she wasn't strong enough or fast enough to keep a vampire away for very long.

Time wasn't on their side.

"Alice, what did you see?" Jasper asked. Alice stopped cold. The only reason could be that she saw something that commanded all her attention. And according to the look of pure distress on her face, it was a devastating vision. Alice gulped and calmed herself down(with help from Jasper).

"Good news, Eric found the right direction to look in. Bad news, we need to hurry up and find her," Alice said hurriedly, running in the general direction she saw in her visions. Something else she found out, turns out she could see the girls(under certain circumstances). But she hoped she will never see one of them in a vision ever again. Ever again.

**AN: What did Alice see? Will they make it in time? Will Bella talk? And what will James reveal? All will be answered(except the first one, which you should be able to figure out) next chapter. Bye bye. And sorry about the length! But this was as long as I could make it. The next chapter will be longer!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: 1/17/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**Oh, and to Nyx'sReincarnation and Akiko the Chibi-Fox: Thank you for reviewing! I love getting reviews. :)**

**I hope all my readers like this chapter. Don't forget to leave a review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Survival Tactics**

**Third Person POV**

After tossing Bella back on the floor, James told his mate to leave. He wanted to be alone with his prey. Bella scrambled onto her feet, rubbing the area when her head smacked against the cold floor for a second time. A headache was forming. She was confused, disoriented, and scared out of her mind. This man was a stranger to her, but she didn't seem to be a stranger to him.

Bella looked up at him, refusing to back away. She was not going to look weak! As least, she tried her best. James observed the young girl for a few moments.

"So Bella-" James began, after a few moments of silence.

"How do you know my name?" Bella interjected. She was determined to look brave. _'I just have to hold out long enough for someone to find me. Good thing I have a lot of practice distracting vampires(thank you Melissa!),' _Bella thought, glancing at the room.

"I've been watching you and your family for a while now," James revealed. Bella was admittedly put off by the idea of someone stalking her family. It terrified all the more.

"Why?" Bella asked incredulously. _'What was so special about them?'_

"You're different. You and those other two girls. You interest me. Plus, now you have an entire coven of vampires protecting you. I'll enjoy killing them off," James said with a hint of mirth. He was enjoying this.

"One, what is a coven? Two, yeah right! My family is made up of the toughest people ever. They'll gonna kick your butt," Bella said, believing every word of it. She had no reason not to. Plus, it gave her hope.

"Really. You truly believe that?" James asked. He thought she was ridiculous to believe that. As if someone could beat him.

"Of course I do! Otherwise, why would I say it? Lying is bad." Bella said. '_Keeping vampires distracted is way too easy,' _Bella thought. She did wonder how long it would take for her family to find her. She wasn't sure how long she could stall.

"Such faith. Too bad you're mistaken." James said. Bella shook her head.

"You're mistaken. Any one of them could beat you. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, any one of them. You should give up now," Bella said, hoping he would (but knowing he wouldn't) give up. James burst into laughter. Bella crossed her arms, feeling indignant.

"You are much too entertaining," James said, once he calmed down. Bella just stayed quiet.

"Is that the name she goes by now? Alice," James asked. He thought this was a perfect opportunity to get information.

"Duh. That's her name," Bella answered, wondering if James was retarded or something. Her fear was(momentarily) forgotten, having been forced to take a backseat. Bella focused on her curiosity.

"Really? Because when I first met her, I could have sworn it was Mary Alice," James said, trying to catch Bella off guard. It worked. Shocked and surprised filled her, which was easily visible.

"You know Ally?" Bella blurted out. She couldn't believe it. _'How could Ally know this guy? He has to be lying,' _Bella thought, shock giving way to disbelief.

"I've met her before. Yes," James answered. Bella gave him a skeptical look.

"And her full name is Mary Alice?" Bella asked. _'Alice never mentioned that her first name was Mary.' _Bella thought.

"Mary Alice Brandon. Tell me, can she still see the future?" James asked, truly wanting to know the answer. That will make his little game much more... challenging. Bella stunned into silence._'How does he know that?' _Bella thought,_' Maybe he does know her.'_

"Wh-what? No! Why would you ask that?" Bella said, nervously laughing. Mentally, she slapped herself. She was not a good liar._'I should have taken those lessons from Richard,' _Bella thought.

"When I met her, she was in an asylum due to seeing visions of the supposed future," James said, not believing the young girl's words.

"Alice never mentioned that," Bella said, wondering that an asylum is. She had a feeling he wasn't going to answer._'Hey, where did that redhead go? She was just here before.' _Bella thought. She hadn't noticed her disappearance until then.

"Yes, well it's good to see her again. She was the only prey that ever got away," James commented. Bella wasn't sure if she wanted to know what he meant.

"Now I can get her and the other two hybrids," James said. Bella scoffed. _'Is this guy for real?' _Bella thought with a hint of disbelief.

"Look, you may have met Ally, but you certainly don't know her. And you may have stalked my family, but you're underestimating them. There is no way you could win against them. You're outnumbered and outgunned," Bella stated with certainty. Nothing he said could have swayed her from that belief.

"Outgunned? What do you mean by that?" James asked. Bella tensed up._'Oopsie!'_She thought, trying to come up with a believable lie. Her fear crept back into her, paralyzing her and her mouth.

"I asked," James said, grabbing the young girl by the hair and holding her up and ignoring her frantic kicking, "what do you mean by that?" Bella squirmed and clawed at his hand. When that didn't work, she begun speaking once again.

"Let me go!" Bella screamed, ignoring his question. James shook her up, not having any trouble keeping a grip on her. Bella still refused to answer. She would take her family secrets to her grave.

"Tell me what you meant, or I'll kill you right now." James threatened. Bella went still. On second thought, Bella really wanted to live. Feeling her heart beat wildly in her chest, she figured she might as well go for it. With great hesitance, she nodded.

"Okay," Bella said. James put her down on her feet, but kept a tight grip on her hair. Bella scrambled to get her answer straight.

"You were saying?" James said in a low voice, one filled with malice. Bella gulped. Taking a deep breath, she began the barely constructed lie.

"I m-meant that you have no idea what you're going up against. They're r-really smart... and good at coming up with fighting st-strategies. Jasper... was even in charge of an army once. He told me himself! Although he wouldn't tell me more. A-and Eric was his second-in-command or something. And Edward is... really really fast, the fastest vampire I've ever met or seen. A-and Emmett is super strong, like... like... A-and they're all r-really good fighters, please don't kill me" Bella stuttered out. She hoped that was enough to get James to leave her alone. Her fear was starting to get to her.

"Is that all?" James asked, suspiciously. Bella was about to nod, but thought better of it._'Well, he does already know about it.' _Bella thought, _'Plus, it might make what I said more believable.'_

"A-and Ally can see the future," Bella added. _'Maybe that will be enough.'_James loosen his grip. Bella seemed genuine. James believed her.

"Let's hope you're not lying. Tell me, do you think your _family_," James said, disgust filling the word,"is looking for you?" James let Bella go so that she could answer. She back away from him.

"Of course they are," Bella breathed out. James was staring at her, his eyes burrowing into her. She felt trapped, claustrophobic, and above all, feared and alone. She did her best to keep distance between him and her, but she felt like that would not be enough.

"Well, I'll enjoy fighting them," James said, walking up to her.

"You're gonna lose," Bella said with more confidence in her voice, although she felt no confidence. She took another quick survey around the room. Pale, yellow wallpaper peeled off the walls, leaving the wood exposed. In some areas, the walls were crumbling into dust, leaving holes that she could escape from if only James wasn't in the way. An old cot with a rusty frame was in the corner, stripped of all sheets and with a considerately larger blood stain. _'This place reminds me of a hospital. That's fitting.' _Bella thought.

"I'll see." James said. Bella gulped. '_He'll see? That's not a good sign.' _Bella thought _'I should run.'_ James continued to watch her, with a look she couldn't name. But it reminded her of a lion looking at a gazelle, which she had only truly seen in pictures. She listened for any sign of other people. She heard none.

Seeing James talk a step toward her, Bella decided it was now or never and sprinted out of the room was fast as she could, which- fueled by adrenaline – was much faster than normal. James was caught off-guard. It was a sudden move he was not expecting. But then he smiled. The hunt just got a little more interesting for him. He followed her at a sedated pace, not worried about her escaping.

* * *

Bella could be described in a lot of words. Slightly naive, affectionate, shy- just to name a few. Stupid wasn't one of them. She knew the chances of evading him forever were nonexistent. The only reason he hasn't caught her yet was because he wasn't really trying. Even as she realized this, she continued on, ignoring her body's screams for rest and air. Breathing hard, Bella ran away from James again, narrowly missing him.

When he herded her into a room, Bella had to admit, she didn't know how she was going to get out of this one. Running behind a cot, she thought about her options. She could try the window, but somehow at some point, she ended up on the second floor. She had no idea how that happened, but it did. So that was out.

She could throw things at him. It could (probably wouldn't) have slow him down. Bella took another look around, knowing she had seconds left, and this time noticed an air vent near the floor. Hearing James' footsteps get way too close for her liking, Bella scrambled to the air vent. Moving a cabinet in front of it, she turned to the air vent and with shaking hands, removed the cover.

Crawling through it, Bella tried to slow her breathing. Pushing herself past what she thought were her limits, along with the adrenaline rush, had kicked up her heartbeat and breathing rate until they were unbelievable loud, even to her. As she crawled, she wondered briefly where this vent lead. Then she heard creaking. _'If scary movies have taught me anything, that isn't good.'_Bella thought, right before the air vent gave out. She fell with a scream, unable to stop that reaction.

"Ow!" Bella cried out, as she landed on her hands and knees. Her right wrist hurt a lot and her knee wasn't much better. Shaking debris off her head, Bella turned over and sat down. She rubbed her wrist._'That hurt. Note to self, stay away from air vents' _Bella thought, listening for signs of James. The pain, mixed her earlier head injury, made her dizzy. Going by the sound of footsteps, Bella figured she had a few moments until James got there. What she didn't know was that he was tried of this game. Bella got onto her feet warily, the only thing she could do before James entered the room.

"That was amusing. Now, any last words?" James asked, walking toward Bella. Panic gripped her mind, making it impossible for her to concentrate on anything but her own frantically beating heart._'I think I just ran out of time' _Bella thought with total dread.

"Hey, where did the redhead go?" Bella asked, just remembering that she was still missing. _'Maybe that will distract him.' _Bella thought, backing up. When her back hit the wall, her heart rate kicked up another notch.

"She went out to get a meal," James answered. Lifting her up(by the front of her shirt) with one hand, James slammed Bella into the wall. The impact left her even more dazed then before. She weakly tried to push him off, but couldn't summon any strength. Smirking at her helplessness, James sunk his teeth into her shoulder. Bella tried again to push him off, but she was still too weak.

Bella wasn't completely sure what James was doing. She knew it was bad, she knew her shoulder hurt, and that he bit her. That was all that she could piece together with the fog that developed over her mind. The edges of her vision where blackening and her head throbbed with pain.

Closing her eyes in the hopes that the room would stop spinning, Bella didn't see what happened next. She did heard a crash, multiple growls and hisses, possibly some voices(although she had no idea what they said), before she felt herself be dropped. A loud thud resonated in her mind as the floor appeared underneath her. A few moments later- or was it minutes?- she felt a hand shake her shoulder. She slowly- and with great difficulty- opened her eyes to see Carlisle there examining her with a concerned look. She wanted to smile at him, but she felt so tired.

Looking behind him, Bella saw(with blurry vision) a large person('_Emmett?'_) carry away who she assumed to be James. He was yelling, kicking, and saying words that Bella should not hear._'Good riddance.' _Bella thought. She turned her attention back to her father figure.

"Bella honey, how does your head feel?" Carlisle asked, trying to get an idea of how bad her head injury was without moving her. There was no blood there, but she seems very dazed and disoriented. Carlisle thought, considering Bella already had venom in her blood(as a previous accident revealed), that James' bite wouldn't do anything.

"Daddy?" Bella said, her voice turning strained. Her head was swimming, and she could barely keep her own thoughts straight._'Where am I again?' _Bella thought, when a slowly increasing pain took hold. She lunched forward in response.

"Daddy! My shoulder hurts! It burns; make it stop," Bella cried, tears appearing in her eyes. A slow, but painful burn was spreading in her shoulder. It felt like someone poured boiling water in her veins. Then set her on fire. Then put her in an oven. Then- she couldn't think of anything else. But it was so aweful, she hated it. She wanted to hide away from the pain and felt her mind start to retract. Carlisle touched her shoulder, slightly soothing the burn she felt and bringing her back to the present.

"Alice," Carlisle started, stopping when said girl walked in.

"If you don't get the venom out of her, she'll become an immortal child. Apparently, they can change if introduced to a strangers venom," Alice told him, before leaving. She knew Carlisle would take care of it. Plus, something(or someone) else required her attention, and she was not about to ignore him. Carlisle sighed and turned back to Bella, who was now crying harder and withering in pain. She did her best to stay still, back was unable to.

"Bella," Carlisle said, getting her attention, "remember what I told you about snake venom and how you sometimes have to suck it out." Bella nodded slightly, vaguely remembering.

"I need to do that now. Tell me when it stops burning," Carlisle said. Bella nodded. Puckering his lips(as to not add any more venom to the wound), Carlisle started to suck out her venom tainted blood. Unable to tell the difference between Bella's natural venom and James' venom, he's relying on Bella to tell him when.

"It stopped," Bella said weakly, feeling very sleepy. Carlisle stopped and spit out the blood that was in his mouth. He picked up the lethargic girl. Telling her softly to stay awake, Carlisle started back home. The rest of the Cullen stuck around for a little while longer, wanting to make sure that everything was taken care off.

* * *

"Bella!" Adriana and Melissa screamed, seeing her sister in Carlisle's arms. Bella flinched at their volume. Their screams were not helping her headache. Esme shushed them as Bella curled up tighter.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Esme asked, getting up from her seat on the couch. She looked over the barely conscious Bella, who had listless eyes and paler skin than normal. Esme frowned at the sight of her and gently caressed her head.

"I doubt it," Carlisle answered. He continued up to his(and Esme's) room with Bella in his arms.

"Stay here and please stay quiet. You can see Bella in a little bit," Esme said following behind Carlisle. Adriana sat back down on the floor. Melissa followed her lead a few moments later.

"She's back," Adriana whispered happily. Melissa nodded.

"I knew they're were gonna find her," Melissa stated quietly, gald and relieved her sister was back. Adriana rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say," Adriana replied. She went back to watching the boring show on TV.

**AN: Turns out I'm turning what would have all been chapter 19, into two chapters. Unless I change my mind. I guess we'll see. I think I did a decent job. What do you think? Sorry about the wait. Busy week. Really busy week.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: 1/17/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I finished doing the odd numbered chapters, and now I'm working on the even numbered chapters. Enjoy and please review. :) **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! And review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Recovery**

**Third Person POV**

**Date: December 25, 1947: Christmas Morning**

It was early. All good little hybrids were still fast asleep. Esme was starting on breakfast. Carlisle was in the kitchen talking with Esme. Emmett and Richard were fighting over the remote. Rosalie, Eric, Alice, and Jasper were watching Emmett and Richard fight(with Jasper egging them on). Edward was finishing wrapping his presents.

"Bella is a tough child Esme. She'll put this behind her," Carlisle assured her. Esme doesn't look convinced.

"But the nightmares," Esme started. Carlisle cut her off.

"Will go away. I'm not saying it'll be overnight, but she will get over this." Carlisle stressed. Esme sighed.

"I just don't like seeing her like that. So scared; it's unsettling." Esme replied. Carlisle got up and hugged her from behind.

"She will get better," Carlisle assured her.

"I hope you're right." Esme replied.

* * *

"Get up! It's Christmas!" Adriana yelled at her sisters. She shook Melissa until she groggily woke up.

"What," Melissa snapped. Finally understanding her sister's actions, Melissa glared at Adriana. Bella cracked her eyes open. Seeing the overexcited Adriana and grumpy Melissa, Bella threw her blanket over her head with her good hand(her other hand had a cast on it) and tried to go back to sleep.

"Bel-la! Get up, it's Christmas!" Adriana shouted, turning her attention to Bella. Bella mumbled, "go away," and turn around. After a few more moments of Adriana's yelling, Melissa sat up.

"Bella, get up. She isn't going to stop, and she's giving me a headache," Melissa told her. Melissa got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Adriana stayed in the room trying to wake up Bella.

"Adri, go away. I'm sleeping," Bella hissed at her. Adriana didn't stop.

"But Bella, I want to open my presents!" Adriana whined.

"Then go do that!" Bella yelled, hiding her head under her pillow. Didn't do anything to block out Adriana's voice.

"You know I can't open gifts without you. Mom won't let me," Adriana said. Bella groaned and sat up.

"Fine! I'm up. Now get out of my way, I need to use the bathroom." Bella snapped, pushing her aside. Adriana stepped aside.

"Melissa is still in the bathroom," Adriana informed her. Melissa chose that moment to enter the room.

"No I'm not," Melissa said, stepping aside so Bella could enter the bathroom. Melissa turned to her pink pajama wearing sister.

"Was waking us up really necessary?" Melissa asked, grabbing her yellow slippers that go along with her yellow and green pajamas.

"Yes. Yes it was," Adriana said crossing her arms.

"You know, we'll have to wait until after breakfast to open presents," Melissa reminded her. Adriana scoffed.

"We'll see about that!" Adriana said, running up the stairs. Melissa rolled her eyes and followed the redhead, putting on her green robe.

* * *

"But why!" Adriana complained. Melissa and Bella sat themselves down at the table and helped themselves to the pancakes on their plates. Spotting Adriana's unguarded plate, Melissa let Bella get first pick.

"Adriana. You can open your gifts after breakfast," Esme told her. Adriana crossed her arms and sat down.

"But-" Adriana started.

"No," Esme cut her off.

"But-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Okay," Adriana conceded. She turned to the table.

"Hey! Where are my pancakes?" Adriana asked, turning to Melissa and Bella. Said girls refuse to look her in the eye. Adriana huffed and crossed her arms.

"Mom!" Adriana complained. Esme turned to Melissa.

"Give her back her plate," Esme demanded.

"I don't have it." Melissa replied. Esme shot her a look.

"Melissa," Esme warned.

"No really, I don't have it," Melissa told her. She pushed herself back to show that she didn't have anything on her. Esme examined her, but realizing that she had only given her three pancakes, not four. Looking at Bella's plate, Esme's noticed she had two unaccounted pancakes.

"Where's the plate?" Esme asked, looking at Bella. Melissa was a good liar, Bella wasn't.

"On the chair seat." Esme picked up the plate and set it back on the table.

"Return the pancakes," Esme told them. Melissa placed one on the plate, and Bella placed two. Adriana smiled and sat at her seat, sticking her tongue out at her sisters.

* * *

"I'm first!" Adriana demanded. She sat down on the floor in the living room.

"Spoiled brat," Melissa mumbled. She sat down next to her on the floor, and the rest of the family sat on the couch, or on surrounding chairs. Adriana shot Melissa a dirty look.

"Okay, okay. You first," Alice said, grabbing her gift for the young girl. Adriana clapped and reached out for it.

"Hope you like it," Alice said, handing it to her. Adriana wasted no time ripping the wrapping off the gift.

"Oh my God! She's so cute," Adriana said, grabbing the toy out of the box. It was a blonde doll in a red and black outfit.

"Can I name her?" Adriana asked looking up at Alice. She loved to name her toys.

"Sure," Alice said, handing her gifts to Bella and Melissa. It was agreed a long time ago that everyone would give their presents to the four-year-olds first. It was just better for everyone involved.

"I'm gonna name her... Eliza. She and Andy are going to be best friends!" Adriana said. Andy was her first and favorite teddy bear; it was beginning to look raggedy, but that didn't stop Adriana from playing with him.

"I thought Sasha was his best friend," Bella asked, talking about her own bear. Sometimes they forgot that their toys weren't real people; other times they were painfully aware. Melissa looked at Bella incredulously, not believing that she forgot.

"Don't you remember? Sasha and Andy had a fight last week. My poor Laura is stuck in middle of it," Melissa reminded her. Melissa frowned for her dog toy; Laura hadn't been the energetic puppy that Melissa loved. Bella's face showed recognition.

"Right." Bella replied, unwrapping her gift(with Carlisle helping her). It was two custom-made outfits(a light blue one and a white and green one) for Sasha. Bella squealed.

"Thank you! It's perfect. I love them," Bella said, smiling wide. Melissa just finished unwrapping her gift.

"Awesome! I can't wait to wear them," Melissa said, looking at boots. They were dark purple and black. _'Hey, they'll go great with my dark indigo dress.' _Melissa thought. Melissa (carefully)set the box on the floor and reached out her hands for the next gift.

* * *

"Wow, another teddy bear. Awesome," Melissa said quickly. She dropped the box on the floor and reached for the next one. Richard hadn't put much thought into his gift, so he wasn't hurt by the total display of disinterest. He was expecting it.

"Yeah, thank you." Adriana said to be polite, already halfway through unwrapping her next gift.

"What?" Bella said when Carlisle tapped her. He pointed to the discarded gift. Looking at it, Bella realized that she forgot to say thank you. Normally she was on the ball when it came to that.

"Thank you Richard," Bella said, turning back to her other gifts. She continued unwrapping the gift by herself.

"Oh my- this necklace is so pretty! Thank you Rosie!" Adriana shouted, standing up to give her a hug.

"So many colors. I love it! Thanks Jasper," Melissa said, holding her new watercolors. She sent Jasper a wave of gratitude and a smile.

* * *

"What are they talking about down there?" Eric asked. They finished exchanging gifts and the family split apart to do different activities. The hospital called Carlisle in- a doctor called in sick. Rosalie and Emmett went into the forest to hunt. Alice retreated to her room. Jasper, Eric, Richard, and Edward were in the living room watching TV. Esme went downstairs with the girls.

"According to Esme, they're trying to figure out who gave the best presents." Edward answered.

"Me probably," Richard said. Eric rolled his eyes at the conceited comment.

"You gave them toys they already had," Eric stated. Richard shrugged.

"So. Who is winning so far?" Richard asked, turning to Edward.

"Why don't you go down there and find out?" Edward replied.

"Not worth it," Richard stated, turning back to the TV. About ten minutes later, Esme came up the stairs and went into the kitchen. She opened the cabinet and grabbed a few glasses.

"Hey mom, who did they pick?" Richard asked. Esme grabbed the apple juice and started pouring it.

"Alice, with Jasper and Rosalie tied for second, and Emmett in third." Esme answered without hesitation.

"How did I place?" Richard asked. Esme shook her head.

"You don't want to know." Esme replied. Before anyone could respond to that, Bella came up the stairs. She looked around the room quickly, looking impatient.

"Where's Ally?" Bella asked. Jasper pointed upstairs. Bella left without another word, which confused the family.

* * *

"Hi Ally." Bella said, walking into the room. Alice was currently going through her closet, putting clothes away and making notes on what to get rid of. Bella threw herself down on her bed and watched her.

"Ally, is Alice your first name?" Bella asked. Alice looked at her surprised at the sudden and random question.

"Why do you ask that?" Alice asked. Bella looked at her carefully, before dropping her eyes and playing with the comforter.

"The James guy said he knew you." Bella said, instead of answering her question. Alice stopped and looked at her, which Bella didn't notice.

"He did?" Alice asked surprised. Bella nodded slowly.

"He said your full name was Mary Alice Brandon," Bella continued. Alice was silent for a few seconds, before walking over and sitting down next to Bella on the bed.

"What else did he say?" Alice asked looking at Bella encouragingly.

"He said you went to an asylum because you were seeing visions of the future and that you were the only prey that ever got away. That was it. What do those two things mean?" Bella asked. His comments had been swimming in her head and she wanted answers.

"An asylum is like a hospital for the mind. See, a lot of people didn't believe I could see the future. So they thought I was sick. As for the second part, ask when you're older." Alice responded without missing a beat. Bella accepted what she said. At least it was an answer.

"Is it true, did he know you?" Bella asked. The question has been burning a hole in the back of her mind since she got home. Well, after her headache cleared up. She really wanted to know. Alice thought about how to answer.

"I never met him face to face, but it sounds like he knew me. Did he say anything else?" Alice finally said. Bella shook her head. Alice(despite her best efforts) looked a bit disappointed at that answer. She needed more info.

"But that redhead might know more," Bella said, wanting to cheer her. Alice raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Are you saying I should ask her?" Alice asked. Bella shrugged.

"As long as you do it far away from me, I don't care," Bella stated. Alice chucked at her tone.

"Why did you mention this now?" Alice asked.

"I was talking with Melissa and Adriana, and Melissa reminded me that I forgot to ask you about it. Man, I am forgetful today," Bella answered.

"Well, thank you for telling me. Want to go downstairs? I think it's almost time for Pete's Play Time," Alice said. Bella nodded and jumped down from the bed before running downstairs.

"Well, it's more than I knew before. It's a start," Alice murmured.

* * *

"Look behind you!" Melissa yelled at the TV. She covered her eyes. Her age appropriate show was long over, and now she and Bella were watching a semi-good horror movie with Emmett. Adriana already went to sleep.

"Melissa, he can't hear you." Emmett responded. Melissa uncovered her eyes.

"I know. But I keep hoping they will," Melissa responded. She recovered her eyes. Esme walked into the room, having put Adriana to sleep.

"Emmett! Stop showing them horror movies. They'll have nightmares." Esme scolded him. This was the fifth time.

"They can handle it." Emmett stated.

"Ahh! Monster. Mommy!" Melissa screamed, running to Esme. Bella had her head in a pillow. The blood was getting to her and she was beginning to feel sick.

"Okay, normally they can." Emmett conceded. Esme glared at him, before calling Bella for bed time.

* * *

"Psst. Psst. Melissa. Psst," Bella whispered. Melissa stayed quiet and turned over, holding to fall back asleep.

"Melissa? Are you awake?" Bella whispered. Melissa sighed and raised herself up on her forearms.

"I am now. What is it?" Melissa replied sleepily. She looked over to her sister. The room door was open, so light from the hallway was shining in.

"I can't sleep," Bella replied. Melissa looked over to her with a concerned look. As much as she hated losing sleep, she hated her sisters losing sleep more.

"What's wrong?" Melissa asked, sitting up in her bed.

"I'm scared," Bella replied. She was laying down in her bed, snuggled into her blanket and facing Melissa. Sasha was by her side, along with Danny the cat, Patches the dog, and Honey the rabbit.

"What are you scared of?" Melissa asked. She grabbed Laura and set her in her lap to pet. Laura always calmed her.

"I don't know. My nightmares I guess," Bella answered. She held Sasha closer to her.

"It's okay to be scared of nightmares, they're supposed to be scary. What happens in your nightmares?" Melissa responded. Bella stayed quiet for a few moments.

"It's different. Sometimes I see blood and... and guts just everywhere and it's... it's so gross. Then other times I'm back at that building and he's chasing me and chasing me and I can't get away. Sometimes I'm walking into the building and I see one of you there and you're dead. Just... just laying there, and I don't know why, but I know it's my fault. And... and it scared me," Bella whispered.

"Bella, you'll get over this. I know that you'll get over this. You're safe, we're safe- everything is going to be fine," Melissa said. Her tone was sincere and it comforted Bella.

"How do you know that?" Bella asked. Melissa looked surprised at the question.

"First of all, we not alone anymore. We don't have to take care of ourselves. We have a mommy and daddy and sisters and brothers to take care of us. So, we going to be fine. And second, if we," Melissa said, stopping to gesture at the three hybrids, "can survive our past, then we can survive anything."

"I guess your right. I'm still scared... Do you ever think about them?" Bella asked. Melissa looked at her toy. She shrugged.

"Sometimes. Mostly when I have nightmares," Melissa responded softly.

"Do you... do you think they'll ever find us?" Bella asked, with a hint of fear in her tone. That thought terrified her. If that man could find her, why couldn't they? Melissa thought about her answer.

"Maybe. But I'm not worried," Melissa answered.

"Why aren't you worried?" Melissa smiled and petted her toy.

"Simple. Because we have an awesome family that could kick anyone's butts," Melissa replied. Bella giggled at that.

"I guess. They wouldn't stand a chance against us," Bella responded.

"Plus, there's a chance we will never see them again. A very good chance. Remember, we're far, far away from where we were found. So why worry?" Melissa continued. Bella smiled a little.

"You have a point. I'm being silly," Bella said. Melissa shook her head.

"No you're not. Something very, very scary happened to you. It's okay to be scared, you're not over it. And it's my job to help you get over it and put this behind you," Melissa replied. She laid back down in her bed.

"So, you good now? Can I go to sleep?" Melissa asked. Bella nodded.

"Sure, go right ahead," Bella responded. Melissa snuggled into her bed and closed her eyes. Bella tried to sleep, but only tossed and turned in her bed. After a few minutes of her trying(and failing) to fall asleep, Melissa sighed and got out of bed. She walked over to Bella's bed, holding Laura.

"Here, Laura helps me sleep when I can't," Melissa said, handing the toy dog to Bella. Bella took it and held it close.

"Thank you," Bella said. Melissa smiled and walked back to her bed.

"You're welcome. Now please, go to sleep. Your tossing and turning is keeping me up." Melissa told her, laying back down.

"Sorry," Bella said bashfully. Melissa rolled her eyes.

"Just go to sleep," Melissa replied.

**AN: And that's it. So, what do you think of the chapter? Wow, one more chapter to go. I never thought I'd actually finish a story. I'm so proud of myself! Please review.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: 1/17/13 So this was my first story, and like all first tries, it had mistakes. This story is being edited and fixed(and rewritten into past tense), so if you see a mistake, don't hesitate to point it out. I'm doing the odd numbered chapters first, since they have to be changed the most. Enjoy and please review. :)**

**If any of you have questions, PM me. I don't mind.**

**Enjoy the chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Happily Ever After(For Now)**

**Third Person POV**

**13 Years Later**

A little one room 'house' in the forest. Built a year ago after a new family moved into the area, it was just far way enough that if you whisper, a vampire couldn't hear you from the main house. This made the playhouse a perfect spot for planning pranks. Something the three hybrid were taking advantage of.

"So Melissa," the redheaded seven-year-old started, "Is it ready?" The redhead was sitting in a chair, with the checklist. Bella was lookout, searching for any sign of someone coming. She also was writing on a paper. Melissa was working diligently on an art project.

An opened box of balloons was in the corner, with a couple hundred inflated ones resting by their feet. Scattered around the room were other boxes. The room had posters of favorite and classic movies hanging on the walls, three chairs and a table, a small bookshelf, and a blue rug. Plus a few toys laid out on the floor.

"Don't rush me," Melissa said, putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece.

"Done. I can't make it any better. It's too bad I have to ruin it. Now this will distract them just long enough to get everything done. So, let's get everything else ready," Melissa said. Adriana nodded and grabbed some of the balloons. She started blowing them up.

"I still don't understand how you could blow up at those balloons. Aren't your lungs tired?" Melissa asked, helping Adriana by blowing some up herself.

"Are you kidding! I think I stretched out my lungs and I almost fainted like ten times. But it will all be worth it in the end," Adriana said. Melissa laughed at her melodramatic behavior.

"Sounds like a lot of work. Getting the balloons was a lot easier," Melissa said, laughing at the memory.

"Yeah, but we collected the balloons over two years. I'm sure if you like add it up and count the time, it'll be the same. They're will be so surprised," Bella said. Melissa smiled.

"Totally. So, how is Rose's prank coming along?" Melissa asked. She and Adriana were in charge of the balloon prank, while Bella was in charge of Rosalie's prank.

"I can't decide." Bella said, holding up two pieces of graph paper. They had colorful designs on them.

"I like the on the left. It's simple. Should take you less time," Melissa advised her. Bella nodded in consideration.

"So the left one it is," Bella decided. They stayed in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Hey Bella, hand over a garbage bag," Melissa said, Bella gave her one and Melissa filled it with multicolored balloons of all shapes and sizes.

"Don't forget to put our special surprise in some of them," Bella reminded them. Adriana waved her off.

"As if we could forget. That's the best part," Adriana said.

"Do you want to go over the plan?" Melissa asked. The other girls shrugged.

"Okay, first I distract everyone with my painting. While I distract everyone, Adri will open the window in Edward's room so we can sneak in later. He thinks locking the door when he leaves is enough. Please, he seriously underestimates me," Melissa started. She filled another garbage with balloons.

"While Adriana is doing that, I'll sneak into the garage and leave the door that leads outside open. So I can sneak in again later and do my part," Bella continued. She grabbed the checklist and counted the balloon bags. Then wrote down the number.

"Then I'll keep everyone hostage with an impromptu fashion show in our third story room. To keep Rose out of the garage and everyone else distracted and annoyed," Adriana added. She filled a few balloons with stuff before putting them in the bag.

"While Adriana does that, I'll sneak into the garage and do my job," Bella said. Melissa nodded.

"And once Edward leaves for class, I'll sneak into his room through the window and finish our prank." Melissa finished. She smiled. No one in the family thought they would be capable of this. Especially since this was two years in the making. Ever since that TV show they watched that sparked Melissa's imagination.

"No one is going to expect this. Even Daddy thinks we just have a couple dozen balloons. And he brought us most of them," Adriana said.

"Don't forget Rose's prank. They're not expecting that either." Bella said. Melissa nodded.

"This will be my best prank yet," Melissa said. Bella looked at the checklist.

"Yet? You have a plan forming in your head sis?" Bella asked. Melissa shook her head.

"Not yet. But you know I'll top myself someday," Melissa said. Bella continued to count off the balloons.

"I think we have enough," Bella said. They filled a lot of garbage bags.

"One more bag. Then we'll start the prank." Melissa said.

"Hey Melissa, I was wondering. Why are we going this today? April fools day was yesterday," Adriana asked.

"That's why we're doing this today. They were on guard yesterday. They were expecting a prank. That's why I did the lame pink paint prank on Emmett instead. They're not expecting a prank today. That means we'll really catch them off-guard now," Melissa said.

"You are way too smart girly," Bella commented.

* * *

"Balloons," Melissa said, doing a last check before starting phase one of her prank. She already checked off some things.

"Check." Bella said. Melissa nodded and checked that off the list.

"Painting. Check," Melissa said. Melissa looked at Adriana.

"Is your fashion show ready to start at my signals?" Melissa asked. Adriana nodded.

"Yep. I planned out my outfits and I picked my music," Adriana said. Melissa nodded and turned to Bella.

"You have your design planned out?" Melissa asked. Bella nodded.

"Okay, let's start moving this stuff to our hiding place near the house. Remember, we have to pretend we're playing. We can not let them be suspicious of us yet. No talking about the plan and every once in a while, we have to break off and run in plain view. Keep up the act. Let's go." Melissa said, grabbing one of the bags.

* * *

Melissa walked into the living room. Her painting was under her arm. Checking for anyone, she walked into the room. Everyone was busy today. Either out doing something or in their room. Melissa set the painting down on the coffee table. She walked over to the Esme's favorite painting. She grabbed the painting off the wall. She hid it under couch.

"I need some apple juice," Melissa said. She walked over to the fridge and grabbed the apple juice. She poured herself some juice. Then walked back to the living room. She set the juice next to the painting. She waited there for a while before turning around.

"Oh, I need snacks!" Melissa said. She made sure to hit the glass on her way out. The glass knocked over and spilled onto the painting.

"Uh oh," Melissa said. She made sure to sound worried. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed paper towels. She ran back to the living room and dabbed at the painting, trying to dry it. She managed to smudge the painting. Melissa looked frantic and worried and slightly sad. She was even giving that emotion off.

"Melissa sweetie. What happened?" Esme asked, coming down the stairs. Melissa's eyes widened.

"Nothing Mom! Don't come down here. Nothing's wrong!" Melissa answered quickly. She held the painting behind her back.

"Melissa, what happened?" Esme started coming into the room. She looked at the painting behind her back, then at the empty wall. Then looked back at Melissa.

"Melissa, what did you do?" Esme said, anger in her voice. Melissa eyes widened again.

"Mom, it isn't what you think." Melissa was quick to say. Some of the family came downstairs to see what happened.

"Hey Melissa, what's taking so lo..." Bella trailed off. She and Adriana walked into the room. She looked at Esme and Melissa.

"We'll just get the ball ourselves," Bella said, excusing herself and Adriana from the room. They quietly walked away.

"Melissa, explain yourself." Esme asked. Melissa looked down.

"It isn't what you think," Melissa said, dejectedly. She set the painting down on the table.

"Then what is it?" Esme said. She was trying to not be angry.

"I was working on something for you. I wanted to surprise you. I painted a copy of your favorite painting that I don't know the name of. I was going to replace your painting with mine and see how long it took you to notice. But now I ruined my painting," Melissa said. She even started to cry a little. Esme's face softened, and she went to hug Melissa.

"Aw, poor baby. But where is my painting?" Esme asked. Bella and Adriana came back into the room. Melissa left Esme's arms and walked over to the couch and grabbed the painting from under there.

"Here it is. I was going to hide it," Melissa said handing it to her. Esme took the painting and wrapped her other arm around her.

"You can always try again." Esme said, trying to cheer her up. Melissa's face scrunched up.

"I don't know. It wouldn't be a surprise," Melissa said. Adriana cut off any reply to that.

"I don't want to sound insensitive, but we have game to get back to," Adriana said. Melissa perked up.

"Oh right! I forgot about it. Let's go," Melissa said, running out the door. The other hybrids followed her. Esme rolled her eyes and hung the painting back up.

* * *

Adriana looked at Melissa who gave her a thumbs up. Adriana went up to Alice's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in Adri," Jasper said. Adriana poked her head in. Alice was sitting in Jasper's lap reading a magazine. Jasper was sitting in a chair.

"Mind if I borrow Ally for a while? I just had the awesomest idea ever!" Adriana said. Alice looked up.

"One, awesomest isn't a word. And two, what's your idea?" Alice asked. Adriana smiled bright.

"We should put on a fashion show! I already picked my outfits and the music. You and me and Rosalie and Esme could model!And everyone else can watch!" Adriana exclaimed. Alice smiled at her.

"That sounds like a great idea. Why don't you go ask Esme and Rosalie if they want to be models" Alice suggested getting up. Adriana nodded and ran out of the room.

"Do I really have to watch?" Jasper asked. Alice looked at him.

"Would you rather deal with an upset Adriana?" Alice asked walking out of the room.

* * *

Bella waited until Adriana started the music.

"Adri? Could you lower that? I can't focus on my book." Bella complained. Adriana grabbed it out of her hands.

"Why would you want to read? Don't you want a part of the most awesome fashion show ever!" Adriana exclaimed, throwing the book away. Bella got up and grabbed the discarded book.

"I don't have the energy to deal with your hyperness today. I'm going to find somewhere quiet to read," Bella said walking out of the room, passing Rosalie in the process. Bella walked downstairs and went outside. She grabbed something from the hiding place before entering the garage. Hearing the very loud music and knowing Adriana will keep them distracted, Bella started.

* * *

Melissa was laying on the floor in front of Edward's room. She was coloring with color pencils, making drawing similar to Esme's favorite painting. She wasn't lying when she said she wanted to make her a painting. She wanted to show off her artistic skills. She isn't just good at planning.

"Hi, Edward!" Melissa said loudly. He was coming toward her.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked. Melissa smiled.

"I'm drawing," she answered innocently. Edward raised an eyebrow and started to lock the door.

"Why are you in front of my room?" Edward asked. Melissa looked down at her drawing.

"I wanted to know if you were going to leave your room unlocked," Melissa answered. Edward shook his head.

"You gonna try to get in again?" Edward asked. Melissa nodded.

"Of course I will!" Melissa answered with a big smile. Edward chuckled and started to walk away before stopping.

"Why is Bella in the garage?" Edward asked. Melissa shrugged.

"She didn't want to be part of Adri's fashion-not that I blame her. I guess Rose left the door open, and Bella went in there so she could read." Melissa replied. Edward looked suspicious. Melissa went back to her drawing. Observing her for a while -and seeing no out of character behavior- Edward relaxed and left. Once Melissa heard Edward leave in his car, she smiled. _'This is going perfectly'_

* * *

The fashion show was still going full swing, Melissa left the house and went to the hiding place. Grabbing a few bags, she calmed herself(to slow her heartbeat) and started dragging then to the window.

Setting the bags near the window, Melissa went back to get more. After she got half of the bags there, she started pushing them in through the window. Climbing in herself, she arranged the balloons bags around the room. Climbing back out, her grabbed the rest of the bags.

Once she got all the bags in the room, Melissa smiled. Moving toward the Edward's record collection.

"Ha! Take that Edward. I got in your room! I got in your room! Now I'm going to mess with your stuff," Melissa said in a sing-song voice. She started grabbing his records and moving his stuff around. She grabbed a few small things and stuffed them into her pockets. Playing one of his records, Melissa started to dance around the room. All the while taking the balloons out of the bag.

"I'm smarter than Edward, I'm smarter than Edward, I'm smarter than Edward," Melissa continued. She tossed the balloons around the room, throwing the bags outside the window. Once all of them were empty and spread around the Melissa started grabbing the bags she left outside the room. Once all the bags were empty, she took a break to look at her handy work.

Balloons filled the room. You can't take two steps without having to push balloons out of your way. Balloons littered the floor. With balloons stacked on top of those balloon and even more balloons on top of that, this was going to piss off Edward. Melissa's little statue had trouble moving through the balloons to get to the record player to turn it off. But she made it. Walking back to the window, Melissa took one last look.

"Wait until Edward sees what I did to his room," Melissa said. Jumping out of the room, she did her best to close the window.

* * *

After returning the garbage bags to the playhouse, Melissa returned to the house and decide to join the fashion show.

"Hey Melissa. What did you do to Edward's room?" Eric asked the second she entered the room. The music was loud enough to make her deaf and Adriana was currently yelling because Emmett refused to try on the outfit Adriana put together for him.

"Oh nothing. Little of this, a little of that. Mess with his music a bit, stole some stuff. You know," Melissa answered. She smiled brightly and walked over to Adriana.

"Hey Adri! Where's my outfit?" Melissa asked. Adriana threw a purple dress and dark blue shoes at her.

"Change in the bathroom," Adriana said. Melissa nodded and walked over to the bathroom.

* * *

Bella was still in the garage. She was putting on the finishing touches. _'Just a few more', _Bella thought. Setting a few more on Rosalie's car, Bella stepped back to look at her handy work. Nodding to herself, she did her best not to let her emotions give her away.

Rosalie's car- her baby -was covered in stick notes. Hundreds and hundreds of sticky notes. But they weren't random, no. That would be disrespectful to Rosalie. She works so hard to keep her car looking nice, Bella had to extend the same care. The sticky notes were carefully laid, making the car look as if it was pink with green, blue, and purple designs.

The sticky notes even covered the windows, windshield, and roof. The roof was tricky. Bella had to get creative to do that. But the result was worth it. It was perfect. Grabbing the book she read last week, Bella left the garage, closing the door behind her. Dropping the box in the trash, Bella went around to the backdoor. She entered the house.

Bella walked over to kitchen, grabbed a box of cookies, then headed to the stairs. She tucked her book under her arm and opened the box. She took her time heading upstairs.

"Is it over yet?" Bella asked, entering the room. The room was a mess(no surprise). Toys here, crayons there, notebooks everywhere, a couple of books in the corner. Oh, and now there were clothes on the floor. The girls were a bit lazy when it came to cleaning.

"Not yet! I have a few more outfits to model," Adriana said. Bella sighed and sat down next to Esme. Watching the seven(Edward and Carlisle weren't here) vampires, Bella briefly wondered if they had any idea what the three girls just did. _'I doubt it' _Bella thought.

* * *

Adriana was having a lot of fun. Putting on a fashion show was very fun. Plus, it gives her an excuse to boss people around(_'although, that's really Melissa's job'_). Plus, she had the most important job. She had to keep everyone distracted. Distracted enough that they didn't notice what Melissa and Bella were really doing.

That was hard. But now, it was over. And she could relax. And eat dinner. Jumping around and being all-round hyper and energetic was tiring. And it worked up an appetite. Adriana was starving. Her belly was growling.

"Mom! I'm hungry," Adriana complained. She was dressed in a pretty light pink evening dress, small heels, and gloves. Her red hair was pinned up(thanks to Rosalie) and she thought she looks very pretty. Melissa was wearing a white blouse and a red plaid skirt, with stockings and Mary Jane shoes. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. Bella was wearing a bright yellow sundress and sandals. Her hair was braided.

"It is late, I guess I'll start on dinner now. You want to help?" Esme replied. Adriana nodded. She kicked off her heels and walked downstairs.

"Hey! Wait for me," Melissa said. She run after them. Bella followed behind. The rest of the vampires hurried out of the room, happy that they weren't being kept in there by a hyperactive hybrid anymore. That girl could be scary, especially when upset.

* * *

"Hey mom," Melissa said, climbing into her bed. They upgraded to twin beds a while ago. Esme tucked her in.

"Yes?" Esme prompted her. Esme kissed her on the forehead and walked over to Bella.

"When is Edward coming back?" Melissa asked. Esme check that everyone tucked in and comfortable before answering.

"Well, his class is over, so soon." Esme answered. Melissa nodded.

"Why does he always put his car in the garage when he gets back?" Bella asked. She cuddled with her teddy bear. Esme walked to the door.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" Esme said, turning off the light. She left the door open. Melissa waited until she heard Edward's car, before giving the signal. The three girls got out of bed and walked down to the second level, looking down from the stairs. They had a nice view of the garage door and Edward's room.

They waited. They could hear the garage door opening, and Edward's car pulling in. They could hear him turn it off and shut the door. They heard him laugh and saw him walk through the door leading inside.

"Hey Rose. You might want to check your car," Edward said. Rosalie looked at him worried.

"Why?" Rosalie said, getting up. Edward's smile was wiped of his face by Eric's thoughts.

"She got into my room!" Edward shouted. He run to his room. Melissa held up three fingers, two fingers, one finger.

"What the hell happened here!" They heard the two vampires scream. The three hybrids high-fived.

Life was good.

**AN: And that's it! Like it? Love it? I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I can't believe I finished a story. I'm so happy. Please leave reviews.**

**- Your Author, splitpersonality4ever(Ashley)**


	22. Preview of New Story

**Author's Note: The second story is up! Here is a preview of the second story in the Growing Up Series, Growing Up: School Yard Years. **

**Prologue**

**Birthday Girl**

**(Isa)Bella's POV**

**Date: September 13th, 1966 (Bella's designated Birthday) Physical Age: 8**

Didn't you love birthdays when you were little? I did. There was presents and cake and presents and singing and presents and games- and did I mention presents? I loved presents. Unfortunately, almost no one celebrated birthdays in my family. Mom, Dad, and my older siblings didn't exactly remember when their birthdays were, so they didn't celebrate.

Adriana, Melissa, and I had no idea when our birthdays were. I wasn't even sure how old I really was. Anyway, Adriana hated that we missed out on gifts every year. That really sucked. So, she decided she was going to have a birthday. She picked a date(April 17) and make it her birthday. Surprisingly, it worked. Probably because Adriana was a bit of a prima donna. Just sometimes... when around other people.

Well, because it worked so well for her, Melissa and I did the exact same thing. I picked September 13 and Melissa picked January 8. The dates had meaning to us, not that our family our family knew what it was. And we were not going to tell them. They supported us(they always did) in this. I loved them for that.

So, today was my birthday. We never made a (very) big deal about it. I already got a few presents, but I was still waiting for the rest. I wondered if they had something planned. I heard Mommy talk to Alice and Jasper earlier today, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Richard distracted me.

Anyway, so I was in the living room. Messing with the piano. Everyone else said it was Edward's piano, but I didn't see his name on it. He wasn't the only one who played it. Well, I didn't really play it as much as I just mess with the keys. But uhh...I could play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Sort of. The right hand part. I was working on the left hand part. Edward was helping me. He said I just needed more practice.

Since I had nothing better to do...

"Twinkle, Twinkle," I sang, playing the first four notes.

"Little star," I continued, playing the next three notes.

"How I wonder," I sang playing the next four notes.

"What you are," Melisa sang entering the room. She waved at me and sat down next to me with a big smile.

"Hey sissy!" I greeted her. She smiled at me.

"Hey! So how has your birthday been?" she asked.

"Awesome! I wonder what they have planned," I said.

"Well, we're about to find out because Mommy told me to tell you to get dressed. Ally-gator and Jazzy pants are taking us somewhere," Melissa said. I laughed a little at her nicknames for Alice and Jasper. And got excited over the news. _'Yes!'_

"Yay!" I exclaimed, getting down and running to my room. Melissa followed me.

"What are you gonna wear?" Melissa asked. I looked at her as I climbed up the stairs.

"Does it matter?" I asked. Even after living with Alice for, like, forever, I still didn't have much of a passion for fashion. I just didn't see the point in it. I look at outfit my slightly shorter sister was wearing. I loved that I was taller than her. She was wearing a (bright) red, yellow, and green dress with a flower pattern that went well with her slightly tan skin. Melissa was a couple shades darker than me or Adriana. She also had pink leggings and yellow boots on, which I thought clashed but whatever. A green head band kept her long hair back and helped it frame her oval face and sky blue eyes. Someone was colorful today.

"Not to me. You know Alice will kill you if you don't look good," Melissa said. We entered our room.

"Why does it matter? We're little kids! And you look like a kindergartener painted you," I responded. Melissa shrugged.

"I like my look; it's the new trend. And like you said; we're little kids. So we have to do what they say. That includes looking our best. Even if we don't see the point in it," Melissa replied. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the closet. I looked through my part of the closet. Alice recently went shopping, so I had new stuff in here.

"How about this?" I asked. I grabbed a fuchsia short-sleeved dress with white swirls. I held it up.

"I like it," Melissa said. She walked over to her drawer. She looked though it for a few moments, before pulling out purple stockings.

"Here." She said throwing it to me. I caught it. I looked at my shoes. I grabbed my Mary Jane shoes, then I walk to the bathroom to change. After changing, I looked in the mirror.


End file.
